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{{History of Moldova}}

The '''history of Moldova''' spans [[Prehistory|prehistoric cultures]], [[Ancient history|ancient]] and [[Medieval history|medieval]] empires, and periods of foreign rule and modern [[independence]].

Evidence of human habitation dates back 800,000–1.2 million years, with significant developments in [[agriculture]], [[pottery]], and settlement during the [[Neolithic]] and [[Bronze Age|Bronze Ages]]. In [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]], Moldova's location made it a crossroads for invasions by the [[Scythians]], [[Goths]], [[Huns]], and other tribes, followed by periods of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] control. The medieval [[Principality of Moldavia]] [[founding of Moldavia|emerged in the 1350s]], and was the medieval precursor of modern [[Moldova]] and [[Romania]]. It reached prominence under rulers like [[Stephen the Great]] before becoming a [[vassal state]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]] from 1538, until the 19th century.

In 1812, following [[Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)|one of several Russian–Turkish wars]], the eastern half of the principality, [[Bessarabia]], was annexed by the [[Russian Empire]], marking the beginning of Russian influence in the region. In 1918, Bessarabia briefly became independent as the [[Moldavian Democratic Republic]] and, following the decision of the Parliament (Sfatul Țării), united with [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]]. During the Second World War it was occupied by the [[Soviet Union]] which reclaimed it from Romania. It joined the Union in 1940 as the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian SSR]]. During this period, policies of [[Russification]] and economic transformation deeply affected the region.

The [[dissolution of the USSR]] in 1991 led to [[Moldovan Declaration of Independence|declared independence]], followed by the [[Transnistria War]] in 1992, a conflict that left the [[Transnistria|Transnistrian]] region as a de facto independent state. Moldova continues to navigate a complex relationship between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions. In recent years, it has pursued closer ties with the [[European Union]], submitting a formal membership application in 2022.

==Prehistory==
{{Main|Prehistory of Southeastern Europe|Neolithic Revolution|Cucuteni–Trypillian culture}}
[[File:CuTryOutline.svg|left|thumb|[[Cucuteni–Trypillian culture]] boundaries]]
In 2010, [[Oldowan]] flint tools were discovered at Dubasari on the lower [[Dniester]] that are 800,000–1.2 million years old demonstrating that early humans were present in Moldova during the [[Lower Paleolithic|early Paleolithic]].<ref>{{cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.aeae.2012.05.002 | volume = 40 | issue = 1 | title = Bairaki–a lower paleolithic site on the lower dniester | year = 2012 |journal=[[Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia]] | pages = 2–10 | last1 = Anisyutkin | first1 = N.K. | last2 = Kovalenko | first2 = S.I. | last3 = Burlacu | first3 = V.A. | last4 = Ocherednoi | first4 = A.K. | last5 = Chepalyga | first5 = A.L.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://paleogeo.org/article3.html|title=Articles|website=paleogeo.org|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520090413/http://paleogeo.org/article3.html|archive-date=20 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://docviewer.yandex.ru/?url=http://www.vgosau.kiev.ua/a/Archaeology_2013_04.pdf&name=Archaeology_2013_04.pdf&page=63&c=572fbb42c54a|title=Archaeology_2013_04.pdf|website=docviewer.yandex.ru|access-date=4 May 2018|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401105743/https://docviewer.yandex.ru/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vgosau.kiev.ua%2Fa%2FArchaeology_2013_04.pdf&name=Archaeology_2013_04.pdf&page=63&c=572fbb42c54a|url-status=live}}</ref> During [[Prehistory|prehistoric]] times there was a succession of cultures that flourished in the land of present-day Moldova from the end of the [[Quaternary glaciation|ice age]] up through the [[Neolithic]] Age, the [[Copper Age]], the [[Bronze Age]], and the beginning of the [[Iron Age]], when [[Recorded history|historical records]] begin to be made about the people who lived in these lands.  These cultures included the [[Linear Pottery culture]] (ca. 5500–4500 BC), the [[Cucuteni–Trypillian culture]] (ca. 5500–2750 BC), and the [[Yamna culture]] (ca. 3600–2300 BC).  During this period of time many innovations and advancements were made, including the practice of [[agriculture]], [[animal husbandry]], [[Pottery#Firing|kiln-fired pottery]], [[weaving]], and the formation of large [[Human settlement|settlements]] and towns.  Indeed, during the Cucuteni–Trypillian Culture, some of the settlements in this area were larger than anywhere on Earth at the time, and they predate even the earliest towns of [[Sumer]] in the [[Mesopotamia]].  The area, stretching from the [[Dnieper River]] in the east to the [[Iron Gate (Danube)|Iron Gate of the Danube]] in the west (which included the land now in Moldova), had a civilization as highly advanced as anywhere else on Earth during the Neolithic period.<ref>Iranica Antiqua, vol. XXXVII 2002 Archeological Transformations:Crossing the Pastoral/Agricultural Bridge by Philip L. Khol</ref>

The question as to why this area did not remain at the forefront of technological and social development lies in the subsequent history of its geographical location.  At the end of the mostly peaceful Neolithic period, this area became a highway for invaders from the east moving into Europe.  By the time the historical written record begins to cover this area, it has already seen a number of invasions sweep over it, leaving social and political upheaval in their wake.  This trend was to continue on a fairly regular basis up until the 20th century.  With so much destruction, it was difficult for the residents of this area to recover from each successive invasion before encountering the next.

==Antiquity and early Middle Ages==
{{See also|Dacia|Moesia Inferior|Free Dacians}}
[[File:Roman province of Dacia (106 - 271 AD).svg|thumb|The Roman provinces of [[Dacia]] (purple) and [[Moesia Inferior]] (green)]]
In recorded [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]] Moldova's territory was inhabited by several tribes, mainly by [[Akatziri]], and at different periods also by [[Bastarnae]], [[Scythians]] and [[Sarmatians]]. Between the 1st and 7th centuries AD, the south was intermittently under the [[Roman Empire|Roman]], then [[Byzantine Empire]]s. Due to its strategic location on a route between Asia and Europe, Moldova was repeatedly invaded by, among others, the [[Goths]], [[Huns]], [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avars]], [[Magyars]], [[Pechenegs]], [[Cumans]], and the [[Mongol invasion of Europe|Mongols]]. Csaba's [[Khalyzians|Khalyzian]] wife, mother of Ed and Edumen, was from the area. Although the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] ruled parts of Moldavia between the reign of [[Krum]] to [[Presian I]], the territory of Moldova itself was never conquered by them. The Bulanids ruled the area from the 8th century to the 10th century. Constantine Porphyrogenitus in [[De Administrando Imperio]] refers to the territory specifically as Atelkuzu (Ατελκουζου), the Black Cuman land of the [[Khalyzians]] and [[Pechenegs]]. It was part of the [[Principality of Halych]] in the 12th and 13th centuries before falling to the [[Golden Horde]] in 1241 until the early 14th century. The colonists of the [[Genoa Republic]] also left a trace in this region. The Hypatian Chronicle mentioned the name of the [[Bolokhoveni]] (the 13th century) a purportedly Romanian population connected to Voloch, the East Slavic exonym of the Romanians. Alexandru V. Boldur identified the Bolohoveni as Romanians.<ref>A.V. Boldur, Istoria Basarabiei, Editura Frunza, p.111-119</ref>

== Principality of Moldavia (1346–1862)==
{{Main|Principality of Moldavia}}

=== Formation of the Principality ===
[[File:Stefan al Moldovei.jpg|thumb|Fresco of [[Stephen the Great]] at [[Voroneț Monastery]]]]
The medieval Principality of [[Moldavia]] was established in 1359 and covered the so-called [[Carpathian mountains|Carpathian]]–[[Danube]]–[[Dniester]] area, stretching from [[Transylvania]] in the west to the Dniester River in the east.<ref>[http://www.avalanchepress.com/Soldier_Khan.php Soldier Khan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801113659/http://www.avalanchepress.com/Soldier_Khan.php |date=2012-08-01 }}, [[Michael Bennighof|Mike Bennighof]], Ph.D.</ref> Its territory comprised the present-day territory of the Republic of Moldova, the eastern 8 of the 41 counties of Romania (a region still called  ''Moldova'' by the local population), the [[Chernivtsi oblast]] and [[Budjak]] region of [[Ukraine]]. Its nucleus was in the northwestern part, the ''Țara de Sus'' ("Upper Land"), part of which later became known as [[Bukovina]]. The name of the principality originates from the [[Moldova River]].

[[File:MoldavianPrincipalityPhysical.jpg|300px|left|thumb|[[Moldavia]] and the modern boundaries]]
The [[foundation of Moldavia]] is attributed to the [[Vlach]] (an old exonym for Romanian) noblemen [[Dragoş]] of [[Bedeu]], from the [[Voivodeship of Maramureș]], who had been ordered in 1343 (1285 after other sources<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ulim.md/digilib/assets/files/Reviste/Revist_%20de%20Istorie%20_i%20Politic__STUDII%20ISTORICE_%20HISTORICAL%20STUDIES_3.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-11-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219032507/http://ulim.md/digilib/assets/files/Reviste/Revist_%20de%20Istorie%20_i%20Politic__STUDII%20ISTORICE_%20HISTORICAL%20STUDIES_3.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-19 }}</ref>) by the [[Hungary|Hungarian]] king to establish a defense for the historic [[Kingdom of Hungary]] against the [[Tatars]], and [[Bogdan I of Moldavia|Bogdan I]] of [[Cuhea]], another Romanian from Maramureș, who became the first independent prince of Moldavia, when he rejected Hungarian authority in 1359. Bogdan I left his lands from Maramureș with his army and part of the Romanian population, by crossing the mountains to the east, after entering in conflict with the Hungarian rulers. From the 14th century onward, Turkic documents would refer to Moldova as "Kara-Boğdan", or "Black Bogdan", thanks to the success of his dynasty.

Moldova also had rich political relations with Poland. In 1387, the great hospodar of Moldova, Peter I, paid a feudal tribute to the Polish king. For the next one hundred and fifty years, relations between Moldova and Poland were periodically friendly, and only occasional conflicts.<ref>Milewski D., ''Mołdawia między Polską a Turcją. Hospodar Miron, 2014''</ref>

The greatest Moldavian personality was prince [[Stephen III of Moldavia|Stephen the Great]], who ruled from 1457 to 1504. He fought the Hungarian Kingdom, the Polish Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire, with success, for the most part of his rule.

=== Ottoman Suzerainty ===
[[File:Hunername 264.jpg|thumb|Sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent|Suleiman I]] taking control of Moldova]]

Stephen III was succeeded by increasingly weaker princes, and in 1538 Moldavia became a [[vassal]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]], to which it owed a percentage of the internal revenue, that in time rose to 10%. Moldavia was forbidden to have foreign relations to the detriment of the Ottoman Empire (although at times the country managed to circumvent this interdiction), but was allowed internal autonomy, including sole authority over foreign trade. Turks were legally forbidden to own land or build religious establishments in Moldavia. In 1574, a major uprising took place there under the treachery of [[John III the Terrible]]. Despite a number of successes, he eventually died in the [[Battle of the Cahul (1574)|Battle of Cahul]] and the uprising was suppressed. Prince [[Vasile Lupu]] had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues, and managed to hold it for twenty years. Lupu was a capable administrator and a brilliant financier, and soon was the richest man in the Christian East. Judiciously placed gifts kept him on good terms with the Ottoman authorities.<ref>For Basil Lupul see N.Norga "Byzance après Byzance", pp. 163–81</ref><ref>see Steven Runciman. "The Great Church in captivity" Edition 3, 1985 pp. 286–7, 341–3, 370</ref>

In the 18th century, the territory of Moldavia often became a transit or war zone during conflicts between the Ottomans, Austrians, and [[Russian Empire|Russians]]. In 1774, following a victory in [[Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)|a war against the Ottomans]], Russia occupied Christian Moldavia, still a vassal of the Ottoman Empire at the time.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A brief history of the late Ottoman empire |last=Hanioğlu |first=Şükrü |year=2008 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-13452-9 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nK5ZDKf3JgkC&pg=PA7 |access-date=2016-05-16 |archive-date=2018-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204122056/https://books.google.com/books?id=nK5ZDKf3JgkC&pg=PA7 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1775, the [[Habsburg monarchy]] annexed ca 11% of the territory of Moldavia, which became known as [[Bukovina]]. By the [[Treaty of Bucharest, 1812|Treaty of Bucharest]] following the [[Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)]], Russia had annexed further 50% of its territory, which became known as [[Bessarabia]].

== Bessarabia under the Russian Empire (1812–1917) ==
{{Main|Bessarabia Governorate}}

[[File:Russian Bessarabia, 1883.jpg|thumb|309x309px|[[Bessarabia Governorate|Gubernya of Bessarabia]], 1883|left]]
With the notable exception of [[Transnistria]], the territory of today's [[Republic of Moldova]] covers most of the historical region of [[Bessarabia]]. Until 1812, the term "Bessarabia" referred to the region between the Danube, Dniester, the [[Black Sea]] shores, and the [[Upper Trajan Wall]], slightly larger than what today is called [[Budjak]]. By the [[Treaty of Bucharest, 1812|Treaty of Bucharest]] of May 28, 1812 between the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the [[Russian Empire]] — concluding the [[Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)]] — the latter annexed the eastern half of the Principality of Moldavia.<ref name="Mitrasca2002">{{Cite book|title=Moldova: a Romanian province under Russian rule : diplomatic history from the archives of the great powers |last=Mitrasca |first=Marcel  |year=2002 |publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=1-892941-86-4 |page=6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZogbSmBR-4C&pg=PA6}}</ref> That region was then called ''Bessarabia''.<ref>Mitrasca, pp. 10–11.</ref>

Initially, after being annexed by the Russian Empire, Bessarabia enjoyed a period of local autonomy until 1828. Organized as an imperial district (''[[Oblast#Oblasts of the Russian Empire|oblast]]''), it was governed by a "provisional government" with two departments: a civil administration and a religious administration, the former led by the aged Moldavian boyar [[Scarlat Sturdza]], the latter – by the archbishop [[Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni]]. On top of these was the Russian military administration of Governor General [[Ivan Markovich Garting|Harting]]. However, already in 1813, the civil administration was handed to the Governor General. In 1818, reform-minded Russian tsar [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] passed a ''Settlement of the establishment of the region of Bessarabia'' which divided the legal power between the tsar-appointed Governor General ([[Alexey Bakhmetev|Bakhmetiev]]) and a 10-member ''High Council of the Region'' with 4 members appointed by the tsar and 6 elected by the local nobility. In lieu of the older 12 ''lands'', the region was divided into 6, later 9 [[county|counties]]. In 1828 however, the conservative tsar [[Nikolai I]] abrogated the ''Settlement'' and passed a new regulation which endowed the Governor General with supreme power, with the regional council having only advisory functions and meeting twice a year. Article 63 of the regulation stated that all administrative personnel must know and perform their duties in [[Russian language|Russian]]. Nevertheless, Romanian language would occasionally appear in documents up to 1854.<ref name=nistor>Ion Nistor, ''Istoria Basarabiei'', 4th edition, Cartea moldovenească, Chișinău, 1991, p. 179-189</ref>

At the end of the [[Crimean War]], in 1856, by the [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Treaty of Paris]], the southern parts of Bessarabia (including a part of [[Budjak]]) were returned to Moldavia, which organized the territory into the districts of [[Cahul]], [[Bolgrad]] and [[Izmail|Ismail]]. Consequently, Russia lost access to the [[Danube]] river. In 1859, the Principalities of [[Moldavia]] and [[Wallachia]] united and formed the [[United Principalities|Romanian United Principalities]], a vassal state of the [[Ottoman Empire]].

In 1870, the institution of [[zemstva]] was instated in the Bessarabian oblast. Cities, communes, counties, and the entire region would elect each a local council representing noblemen, merchants and peasants. They had substantial authority in economic and sanitary areas, including roads, posts, food, public safety and education. On the other hand, political (including justice courts of all levels) and cultural matters remained an exclusive domain of the Governor General and were used as a vehicle of [[Russification]]. With the accomplishment of these introductions, in 1871, Bessarabia was transformed into a governorate.<ref>Ion Nistor, p.190-191</ref>

The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)]] and the subsequent signing of the [[Treaty of Berlin, 1878|Treaty of Berlin]] granted independence to Romania.<ref name="Mitrasca2002"/> Although the treaty of alliance between Romania and Russia specified that Russia would defend the territorial integrity of Romania and not claim any part of Romania at the end of the war, the southern part of Bessarabia was re-annexed to Russia. In exchange, Romania was given [[Dobruja]], which was at the time part of the Ottoman Empire.<ref>Mitrasca, p. 23.</ref>

[[File:Colina Mazarachi.JPG|thumb|left|[[Măzărache Church]] in the 19th century]]
Public education was entrusted to the religious establishment of the region, which since 1821 had only Russian archbishops, and later also to the zemstvos. [[Dimitrie Sulima]] (Archbishop in 1821–1855), and [[Antonie Shokotov]] (1855–1871) allowed the parallel usage of both [[Romanian language|Romanian]] and [[Russian language|Russian]] in church, and did not take any measures to infringe upon the linguistic specifics of the region. With the appointment of [[Pavel Lebedev]] (1871–1882), the situation changed radically, and the language of the locals was soon purged from the church. To prevent the printing of religious literature in Romanian, Lebedev closed down the [[printing press]] in [[Chișinău]], collected from the region and burned the already printed books in Romanian (in the [[Romanian Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic alphabet]]). The following archbishops [[Sergey Lapidevsky]], [[Isakyi Polozensky]], [[Neofit Novodchikov]] eased some of Lebedev's measures to help quell the serious dissatisfaction of the population. The next Archbishop [[Iakov Pyatnitsky]] (1898–1904) discovered that his desire to popularize a Christian culture and a moral education faced a language barrier, and in 1900 convinced the [[Most Holy Synod|Russian High Synod]] to allow the publication of religious pamphlets in Romanian, while his follower Archbishop Vladimir allowed the printing of books, and from 1908 even of a regular religious journal "[[Luminătorul]]" by Constantin Popovici and [[Gurie Grosu]]. The last Russian Archbishops, [[Serafim Chichyagov]] (1908–1914), Platon (1914–1915) and [[Anastasy (Gribanovsky)|Anastasius]] (1915–1918) tried to preserve the privileged status of the Russian language in the church in Bessarabia, but did not introduce any new anti-Romanian measures. In 1918, after the installation of the Romanian administration in Bessarabia, Archbishop Anastasius refused to subordinate his eparchy to the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]], and was forced into exile.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Leustean|editor-first=Lucian|title=Eastern Christianity and the Cold War, 1945–91|publisher=Routledge|year=2009|isbn=9780203865941|page=213}}</ref> The new authorities entrusted the archbishopric to the Bishop [[Nicodem de Huși]] from Romania, who appointed a local Archbishop [[Dionisie Erhan]]. Then the Clerical Congress on February 21, 1920, elected [[Gurie Botoșăneanu]] as the highest church official in Bessarabia, which afterwards was raised from Archbishop to Metropolitan.<ref>Ion Nistor, p. 224-244</ref>

[[File:Banulescu-Bodoni.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni]]]]
Under the protection of [[Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni]] and Dimitrie Sulima a theological school and a seminary were opened in Chișinău, and public schools throughout the region: in the cities of Chișinău, Hotin, Cetatea Albă, Briceni, Bender, Bălți, Cahul, Soroca, Orhei, at the monasteries of Dobrușa and Hârjauca, and even in several villages (Rezeni, Mereni, Volcineț, Nisporeni, Hârtop). In 1835, the tsarist authorities declared a 7-year deadline to transfer the education from [[Romanian language|Romanian]] to [[Russian language|Russian]]. Although the measure was implemented more gradually, since 1867, Romanian was purged entirely from the education. This had the effect of keeping the peasant population of Bessarabia backward, as witnessed by the fact that in 1912 Moldavians had a literacy rate of only 10.5%, lowest among all ethnic groups of the region (63% for [[Bessarabian Germans]], 50% for [[Bessarabian Jews]], 40% for [[Russians]], 31% for [[Bessarabian Bulgarians]]), with a record low 1.7% literacy rate for Moldavian women. Of the 1709 primary schools in Bessarabia in 1912, none was in the language of the main ethnic group.<ref>Ion Nistor, p. 249-255</ref>
[[File:Chisinau water carrier.jpg|thumb|left|[[Chișinău]] water carrier]]

After 1812, the newly installed Russian authorities expelled the large [[Nogais|Nogai]] [[Tatars|Tatar]] population of Budjak ([[Little Tartary]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.goshen.edu/mqr/pastissues/apr00staples.html|title= Mennonite-Nogai Economic Relations, 1825–1860|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130108093628/http://www.goshen.edu/mqr/pastissues/apr00staples.html|archive-date= 2013-01-08|access-date= 2009-09-01}}</ref> and encouraged the settlement of Moldavians, Wallachians, Bulgarians, Ukrainians and others through various fiscal facilities and exemption from military service.<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Figes|author-first=Orlando|title=The Crimean War: A History|publisher=Macmillan|year=2011|isbn=9781429997249|page=18}}</ref> The [[colonization]] was generated by the need to better exploit the resources of the land,<ref>Marcel Mitrasca, ''Moldova: A Romanian Province Under Russian Rule'', Algora, 2002, {{ISBN|1-892941-86-4}}, pg. 25</ref> and by the absence of serfdom in Bessarabia.<ref>Ion Nistor, ''Istoria Basarabiei'', Cernăuți, 1921</ref> German colonists from Switzerland (canton [[Lausanne]]), France, and Germany ([[Württemberg]]) settled in 27 localities (most newly settled) in [[Budjak]], and by 1856 [[Bessarabian Germans]] were 42,216. Russian veterans of the 1828–1829 war with the Ottomans were settled in 10 localities in Budjak, and three other localities were settled by [[Cossacks]] from [[Dobrudja]] (which got there from the [[Dniepr]] region some 50 years earlier). [[Bessarabian Bulgarians]] and [[Gagauz people|Gagauz]] arrived from modern eastern Bulgaria as early as the second half of the 18th century. In 1817, they numbered 482 families in 12 localities, in 1856 – 115,000 people in 43 localities. Ukrainians had arrived Bessarabia since before 1812, and already in the 1820s they made up one third of the population of the most northern [[Hotin county]]. In the following decades more Ukrainians settled throughout the northern part of Bessarabia from [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]] and [[Podolia]]. Jews from Galicia, Podolia and Poland also settled in Bessarabia in the 19th century, but mostly in the cities and fairs; in some of these they eventually became a plurality. In 1856, there were 78,751 [[Bessarabian Jews]] and according to the Imperial Russian census of 1897, the capital [[Chișinău|Kishinev]] had a [[History of the Jews in Moldova|Jewish]] population of 50,000, or 46%, out of a total of approximately 110,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.jewish.md/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=50&limit=1&limitstart=7|title= Jewish Moldova|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090113204102/http://www.jewish.md/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=50&limit=1&limitstart=7|archive-date= 2009-01-13}}</ref> There was even an attempt by the Russian authorities to create 16 Jewish agricultural colonies, where 10,589 people would settle. However within less than 2 generations, most of them sold the land to the local Moldavians and moved to the cities and fairs.<ref>Ion Nistor, p.197-214</ref> The various population movements saw an increase of the [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] population to more than a fifth of the total population by 1920,<ref>[http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_8.shtml#bc_8 ''Bessarabia'' by Charles Upson Clark, 1927, chapter 8] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212063455/http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_8.shtml|date=2012-12-12}}: "Today, the [[Bessarabian Bulgars|Bulgarians]] form one of the most solid elements in Southern Bessarabia, numbering (with the [[Gagauz people|Gagauzes]], i.e. Turkish-speaking Christians also from the [[Dobrudja]]) nearly 150,000. Colonization brought in numerous Great Russian peasants, and the Russian bureaucracy imported Russian office-holders and professional men; according to the Romanian estimate of 1920, the Great Russians were about 75,000 in number (2.9%), and the Lipovans and Cossacks 59,000 (2.2%); the Little Russians (Ukrainians) came to 254,000 (9.6%). That, plus about 10,000 Poles, brings the total number of Slavs to 545,000 in a population of 2,631,000, or about one-fifth"</ref> while the proportion of the Moldovan population steadily decreased. In absence of any official records on ethnic distribution until the late 19th century, various figures for the ethnic proportions of the region have been advanced. Thus, in the 1920s Romanian historian [[Ion Nistor]] alleged that, at the beginning of the Russian administration, Moldavians represented 86% of the population.<ref>Ion Nistor, ''Istoria Bassarabiei'', Cernăuți, 1921</ref> While according to official statistics speakers of Moldovan and Romanian accounted for 47.8% in 1897,<ref>{{in lang|de}} Flavius Solomon, ''Die Republik Moldau und ihre Minderheiten'' (Länderlexikon), in: Ethnodoc-Datenbank für Minderheitenforschung in Südostosteuropa, p. 52</ref> some authors proposed figures as high as 70% for the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_7.shtml#bc_7|title= ''Bessarabia'' by Charles Upson Clark, 1927, chapter 7|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090111124939/http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_7.shtml#bc_7|archive-date= 2009-01-11}}</ref>

== Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–1918) ==
{{Main|Sfatul Țării|Moldavian Democratic Republic|Union of Bessarabia with Romania|Bessarabian question|Greater Romania}}

[[File:Unification of Romania & Bessarabia.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Declaration of [[Union of Bessarabia with Romania|unification of Bessarabia and Romania]]]]
After the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]], a Romanian nationalist movement started to develop in Bessarabia. While it received a setback in 1906–1907, the movement re-emerged even stronger in 1917.<ref>Mitrasca, pp. 28–29</ref>

To quell the chaos brought about by the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian revolutions of February and October 1917]], a national council, [[Sfatul Țării]], was established in Bessarabia, with 120 members elected in county meetings of peasants, and by political and professional organizations from Bessarabia. On December 15, 1917, the Council proclaimed the [[Moldavian Democratic Republic]], as part of the [[Russian Democratic Federative Republic|Russian Republic]], then formed the government of Moldavia. With the approval of the Allies and the [[White Army|Russian White]] general [[Dmitry Shcherbachev]], commander-in-chief of the Russian forces on the Romanian Front, on January 26, 1918, Romanian troops entered Bessarabia, ostensibly as a temporary measure to maintain security, which had deteriorated due to large numbers of deserters from the Russian Army.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [http://www.literaturasiarta.md/printpress.php?l=ro&idc=32&idc1=87&id=587 "Activitatea legislativă a Sfatului Țării și autodeterminarea Basarabiei" ("The Legislative Activity of Sfatul Țării and the Self-determination of Bessarabia")] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722170920/http://www.literaturasiarta.md/printpress.php?l=ro&idc=32&idc1=87&id=587 |date=2011-07-22 }}, ''Literatura și Arta'', 11 September 2008</ref><ref>{{in lang|ro}} Corneliu Chirieș, [http://www.observatordebacau.ro/2008/03/23/90-de-ani-de-la-unirea-basarabiei-cu-romania.html "90 de ani de la Unirea Basarabiei cu România" ("90 Years Since the Union of Bessarabia with Romania")] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318003401/http://www.observatordebacau.ro/2008/03/23/90-de-ani-de-la-unirea-basarabiei-cu-romania.html |date=2009-03-18 }}, ''Observator de Bacău'', 23 March 2008</ref> While Romanian historiography generally asserts the intervention was done on the request of Sfatul Țării,<ref>[[Ion Nistor]], Istoria Basarabiei, 4th edition, Chișinău, Cartea moldovenească, 1991, p. 281</ref><ref>[[Petre P. Panaitescu]], Istoria Românilor, 7th edition, Editura didactică și pedagogică, București, 1990, p. 322</ref><ref>[[Pantelimon Halippa]], Anatolie Moraru, ''Testament pentru urmași'', München, 1967, reprint Hyperion, Chișinău, 1991, pp. 82–86</ref> the presence of the Romanian army in Bessarabia was protested by some of the republic's leaders, notably [[Ion Inculeț]], president of ''Sfatul Țării'' and [[Pantelimon Erhan]], head of the provisional Moldavian executive protesting against it.<ref>Charles Upson Clark, "Bessarabia", Chapter XIX, New York, 1926, [http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_19.shtml#bc_19 Chapter 19] {{webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110223150842/http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/clark/bc_19.shtml |date=2011-02-23 }}</ref> In particular they feared that big land owners-dominated Romanian Government could use the troops to prevent the envisaged Agrarian reform, a cornerstone priority of the Bessarabian government.<ref>P.Halippa, A.Moraru, ''Testament pentru urmasi'', 2nd edition, Hyperion, Chișinău, 1991, p.85-87</ref>

After this, the Council declared the independence of the Moldavian Democratic Republic on {{OldStyleDate|February 6|1918|January 24}}. Under pressure from the Romanian army,<ref>Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities:Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, pg. 156</ref><ref>King, C. The Moldovans: Romania, Russia and the Politics of Culture, Hoover Institution Press, 2000, pg. 35</ref> on {{OldStyleDate|April 9|1918|March 27}}, Sfatul Țării, by a vote of 86 to 3, with 36 abstentions, approved a conditional [[Union of Bessarabia with Romania]]. Conditions included territorial autonomy of Bessarabia, an agrarian reform, respect for human freedoms and general amnesty. Nevertheless, as early as the summer of 1918 the Romanian government began encroaching on the existing forms of local autonomy. Thus, the members of the [[zemstvo]]s were appointed by royal decree, rather than being elected, as had been the case during the Russian rule. The province was subordinated to a royal-appointed General Commissar, and ''Sfatul Țării'' was relegated to a consultative position. Furthermore, the [[state of siege]] was declared throughout Bessarabia and censorship was instated.<ref name="Dascăl 2010 183–205">{{cite journal |last=Dascăl |first=Octavian |year=2010 |title=Scurte considerații privind modernizarea Basarabiei în primul deceniu interbelic (1918–1928). Pe marginea unei recente apariții editoriale la Chișinău |url=http://www.arhivelenationale.ro/images/custom/image/serban/RA%201%202010/12%20dascal,%20octavian.pdf |journal=Revista Arhivelor |publisher=National Archives of Romania |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=183–205 |issn=1453-1755 |access-date=4 January 2014 |archive-date=4 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104212556/http://www.arhivelenationale.ro/images/custom/image/serban/RA%201%202010/12%20dascal,%20octavian.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Under the pressure of the Romanian central government, worried about the growing dissatisfaction with its administration of the region and the strengthening of the [[Autonomism (political doctrine)|autonomist]] current, the conditions were nominally dropped by the ''Sfatul Țării'' in December 1918.<ref name="basciani118">Alberto Basciani, "La Difficile unione. La Bessarabia e la Grande Romania", Aracne, 2007, pg. 118</ref> The vote was taken in the presence of only 44 of the 125 members, or, according to other sources, 48 of 160; lacking a [[quorum]], the vote was judged to be illegitimate by some.<ref name="basciani118"/><ref>Charles King, "The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture", Hoover Press, 2000, pg. 35</ref>

The union was recognized by Britain, France and Italy, but not by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] government, which claimed the area as the [[Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic]], and argued the union was made under conditions of Romanian military occupation by a Council that had not been elected by the people of Bessarabia in elections.<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Xibz9xpeTjcC&pg=PA99 |title= Soviet Diplomacy 1925–41 |author= J.C. Johari |publisher= Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 2000, pp. 99–101 |access-date= 16 September 2010 |isbn= 978-81-7488-491-6 |year= 2000 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Union with Romania and the Interwar Period (1918–1940) ==
[[File:Greater Romania.svg|thumb|left|400px|The administrative map of Greater Romania in 1930]]
After 1918 Bessarabia was under Romanian jurisdiction for the next 22 years. This fact was recognized in the [[Treaty of Paris (1920)|1920 Treaty of Paris]]<ref name="legal">{{Cite journal|title=The Legal Status of the Bukovina and Bessarabia|author=Malbone W. Graham|journal=The American Journal of International Law|date=October 1944|volume=38|issue=4|publisher=American Society of International Law|url=https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=author%3A+intitle%3AThe+Legal+Status+of+the+Bukovina+and+Bessarabia&as_publication=The+American+Journal+of+International+Law&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search|jstor=2192802|pages=667–673|doi=10.2307/2192802|s2cid=146890589 |access-date=2017-12-02|archive-date=2020-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701234639/https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=author:+intitle:The+Legal+Status+of+the+Bukovina+and+Bessarabia&as_publication=The+American+Journal+of+International+Law&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> which, however, has never come into force since it was not ratified by Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Roma, 1924–1927|author=Ioan Bulei|journal=Magazin Istoric|date=March 1998|issue=3|publisher=Fundația Culturală Magazin Istoric|url=http://www.itcnet.ro/history/archive/mi1998/current3/mi13.htm|access-date=2008-02-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017012543/http://www.itcnet.ro/history/archive/mi1998/current3/mi13.htm |archive-date = 2007-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=King |first=Charles |date=2000 |title=The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture |url=https://archive.org/details/moldovansromania00king_0/page/39 |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/moldovansromania00king_0/page/39 39] |isbn=9780817997922 |access-date=21 April 2014 |url-access=registration }}</ref> The newly communist Russia did not recognize the Romanian rule over Bessarabia.<ref>Wayne S Vucinich, ''Bessarabia'' In: ''[[Collier's Encyclopedia]]'' (Crowell Collier and MacMillan Inc., 1967) vol. 4, p. 103</ref> The [[Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic]] was proclaimed on May 5, 1919, in [[Odessa]] as a "Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government in exile" and established on May 11, 1919, in [[Tiraspol]] as an autonomous part of [[Russian SFSR]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Moldova.htm],|title=Moldova|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202064439/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Moldova.htm|archive-date=2017-02-02}}</ref> Furthermore, Russia and later, the Soviet Union, considered the region to be Soviet territory under foreign occupation and conducted numerous diplomatic attempts to reclaim it. No diplomatic relations existed between the two states until 1934. During that time, both countries subscribed to the principle of non-violent resolution of territorial disputes in the [[Kellogg-Briand Treaty]] of 1928 and the [[London Convention for the Definition of Aggression|Treaty of London]] of July 1933. Meanwhile, the neighboring region of [[Transnistria]], part of the [[Ukrainian SSR]] at the time, was formed into the [[Moldavian ASSR]] after the failure of the [[Tatarbunary Uprising]] in 1924.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Lands Between: Conflict in the East European Borderlands, 1870–1992 |last=Prusin |first=Alexander |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-929753-5 |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QRAE5wYtR5MC&pg=PA101 |access-date=16 September 2010 |archive-date=5 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705040539/http://books.google.com/books?id=QRAE5wYtR5MC&pg=PA101 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[land reform]], implemented by ''Sfatul Țării'' in 1918–1919, resulted in a rise of a [[middle class]], as 87% of the region's population lived in rural areas. The reform was however marred by the small size of the awarded plots, as well as by preferential allotment of land to politicians and administrative personnel who had supported the political goals of the Romanian government.<ref name="Dascăl 2010 183–205"/> Generally, urban development and industry were insignificant, and the region remained primarily an agrarian rural region throughout the interwar period.<ref name="Bessarabians1">Cristina Petrescu, "Contrasting/Conflicting Identities: Bessarabians, Romanians, Moldovans" in Nation-Building and Contested Identities, Polirom, 2001, pg. 159</ref> Certain improvements were achieved in the area of education, the literacy rate rising from 15.6% in 1897<ref name="CKing-p23">[[Charles King (professor of international affairs)|Charles King]], ''The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture'', Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8179-9792-X}}. p. 23</ref> to 37% by 1930; however, Bessarabia continued to lag behind the rest of the country, the national literacy rate being 60%.<ref name="Bessarabians1"/> During the inter-war period, Romanian authorities also conducted a program of [[Romanianization]] that sought to assimilate ethnic minorities throughout the country. The enforcement of this policy was especially pervasive in Bessarabia due to its highly diverse population, and resulted in the closure of minority educational and cultural institutions.<ref name="CKing-p44">[[Charles King (professor of international affairs)|Charles King]], ''The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture'', Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8179-9792-X}}. p. 44</ref>

[[File:Stamp of Moldova md543.jpg|thumb|left|[[National Museum of Fine Arts, Chișinău|Museum of Fine Arts]], 1939]]
On 1 January 1919 the Municipal Conservatory (the Academy of Music) was created in Chişinău, in 1927 – the Faculty of Theology, in 1934 the subsidiary of the Romanian Institute of social sciences, in 1939 – municipal picture gallery. The [[Agricultural State University of Moldova]] was founded in 1933 in Chișinău. The [[National Museum of Fine Arts, Chișinău|Museum of Fine Arts]] was founded in 1939 by the sculptor [[Alexandru Plămădeală]]. [[Gurie Grosu]] was the first [[Metropolitan of Bessarabia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mnam.md/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=25&lang=en|title=History|website=mnam.md|access-date=2017-03-29|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401022141/http://www.mnam.md/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=25&lang=en|archive-date=2017-04-01}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

The first [[aviation in Moldova|scheduled flights to Chișinău]] started on 24 June 1926, on the route [[Bucharest]] – [[Galați]] – [[Iași]] – Chișinău. The flights were operated by [[Compagnie Franco-Roumaine de Navigation Aérienne]] – CFRNA, later [[TAROM|LARES]].<ref>[http://www.europeanairlines.no/Arcticles_Rumania1_250306.htm Airline companies in Rumania (1918–1945)]{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The first society of the Romanian writers in Chișinău was formed in 1920, among the members were [[Mihail Sadoveanu]], [[Ştefan Ciobanu (politician)|Ștefan Ciobanu]], [[Tudor Pamfile]], [[Nicolae Dunăreanu]], [[N.N.Beldiceanu]], [[Apostol D.Culea]]. ''Writer and Journalist Bessarabian Society'' took an institutionalized form in 1940. The First Congress of the Society elected as president [[Pan Halippa]] as Vice President [[Nicolae Spătaru]], and as secretary general [[Nicolae Costenco]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

[[Viața Basarabiei]] was founded in 1932 by [[Pan Halippa]]. [[Radio Basarabia]] was launched on 8 October 1939, as the second radio station of the [[Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company]]. The [[Capitoline Wolf, Chișinău|Capitoline Wolf]] was opened in 1926 and in 1928 the [[Stephen the Great Monument]], by the sculptor [[Alexandru Plămădeală]], was opened.

== World War II and Soviet era (1940–1991) ==
{{Seealso|World War II|Soviet Union|Republics of the Soviet Union}}

=== The formation of Soviet Moldavia ===
{{Main|Moldavian ASSR|Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|Moldavian SSR|Transnistria (World War II)|Soviet deportations from Bessarabia}}

After the establishment of the Soviet Union in December 1922, the Soviet government moved in 1924 to establish the [[Moldavian Autonomous Oblast]] on the lands to the east of the [[Dniester]] River in the [[Ukrainian SSR]]. The capital of the oblast was [[Balta, Ukraine|Balta]], situated in present-day [[Ukraine]]. Seven months later, the oblast was upgraded to the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ([[Moldavian ASSR]] or MASSR), even though its population was only 30% ethnic Romanian. The capital remained at Balta until 1929, when it was moved to [[Tiraspol]].<ref name="CKing-p181">[[Charles King (professor of international affairs)|Charles King]], ''The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture'', Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8179-9792-X}}. p. 181</ref>

In the secret protocol attached to the 1939 [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] defining the division of the spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, Nazi Germany declared it had no political interest in Bessarabia, in response to the Soviet Union's expression of interest, thereby consigning Bessarabia to the Soviet "sphere". On June 26, 1940, the Soviet government issued an [[ultimatum]] to the Romanian minister in Moscow, demanding Romania immediately cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Italy and Germany, which needed a stable Romania and access to its oil fields, urged King Carol II to do so. On June 28, Soviet troops crossed the Dniester and [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|occupied Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nagy-Talavera |first=Nicolas M. |title=Green Shirts and Others: a History of Fascism in Hungary and Romania |year=1970 |pages=305}}</ref>

[[File:Tiraspol 2.JPG|thumb|[[Tiraspol]], 1941]]
The Soviet republic created following annexation did not follow Bessarabia's traditional border. The [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic]] (Moldavian SSR), established on August 2, 1940, consisted of six and a half counties of Bessarabia joined with the westernmost part of the already extant MASSR (an autonomous entity within the Ukrainian SSR). Various changes were made to its borders, which were finally settled by November 1940. Territories where ethnic Ukrainians formed a large portion of the population (parts of [[Northern Bukovina]] and parts of [[Hotin]], [[Akkerman]], and [[Izmail]]) went to Ukraine, while a small strip of Transnistria east of the Dniester with a significant (49% of inhabitants) Moldovan population was joined to the MSSR. The transfer of Bessarabia's Black Sea and Danube frontage to Ukraine insured its control by a stable Soviet republic. This transfer, along with the division of Bessarabia, was also designed to discourage future Romanian claims and [[irredentism]].<ref name="CKing-p94">[[Charles King (professor of international affairs)|Charles King]], ''The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture'', Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8179-9792-X}}. p. 94</ref>

Under early Soviet rule, [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|deportations]] of locals to the northern [[Ural Mountains|Urals]], to [[Siberia]], and [[Kazakhstan]] occurred regularly throughout the [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] period, with the largest ones on 12–13 June 1941, and 5–6 July 1949, accounting for 19,000 and 35,000 deportees respectively (from MSSR alone).<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [http://www.presidency.ro/static/ordine/RAPORT_FINAL_CPADCR.pdf Tismăneanu Report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408193207/http://www.presidency.ro/static/ordine/RAPORT_FINAL_CPADCR.pdf |date=2008-04-08}}, pages 584 and 587</ref> In 1940–1941, ca. 90,000 inhabitants of the annexed territories were subject to political persecutions, such as arrests, deportations, or executions.<ref name="tismrep1">{{in lang|ro}} Comisia Prezidențială pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România: Raport Final / ed.: Vladimir Tismăneanu, Dorin Dobrincu, Cristian Vasile, București: Humanitas, 2007, 879 pp., {{ISBN|978-973-50-1836-8}} (Tismăneanu Report)</ref>

By participating in the 1941 [[Operation Barbarossa|Axis invasion of the Soviet Union]], pro-German Romania seized the lost territories of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, as well as those of the former MASSR, and established its administration there. In [[Transnistria (World War II)|occupied Transnistria]], Romanian forces, working with the Germans, deported ca. 147,000 Jews from the territories of Bessarabia and Bukovina, of whom over 90,000 perished in ghettoes and concentration camps.<ref name=tismrep2>{{in lang|ro}} ''Comisia prezidențială pentru alaliza dictaturii comuniste din România. Raport final.'' Humanitas, București, 2008, p. 585, see also [http://www.presidency.ro/static/ordine/RAPORT_FINAL_CPADCR.pdf electronic version] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408193207/http://www.presidency.ro/static/ordine/RAPORT_FINAL_CPADCR.pdf |date=2008-04-08 }}</ref>

By April 1944, successful offensives of the Soviet Army occupied northern Moldavia and Transnistria, and by the end of August 1944 the entire territory was under Soviet control, with Soviet Army units entering Kishinev on 24 August 1944. The [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|Paris peace treaty]] signed in February 1947 fixed the Romanian-Soviet border to the one established in June 1940.<ref>Ian Sinclair, ''Boundaries'' in Daniel Bardonnet, [[Hague Academy of International Law]], ''Le règlement pacifique des différends internationaux en Europe'', Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Hague, 1991, {{ISBN|0-7923-1573-1}}, p.36</ref><ref>[[Charles King (professor of international affairs)|Charles King]], ''The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture'', [[Hoover Institution Press]], Stanford University, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8179-9792-X}}, p.91</ref>

The territory remained part of the Soviet Union after World War II as the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic]]. Soviet Union created the universal educational system, brought high-tech industry and science.  Most of these industries were built in Transnistria and around large cities, while in the rest of the republic agriculture was developed. By the late Soviet period, the urban intelligentsia and government officials were dominated mostly by ethnic Moldovans, while Russians and Ukrainians made up most of the technical and engineering specialists.<ref>Aleksei Georgievich Arbatov, ''Managing Conflict in the Former Soviet Union: Russian and American Perspectives'', [[MIT Press]], 1997, {{ISBN|0-262-51093-6}}, p. 154-155.</ref>

=== Post-WWII Moldavia ===
[[File:Agricultura in raionul Camenca.JPG|thumb|[[Agriculture in Moldova]], 1941]]

The conditions imposed during the reestablishment of Soviet rule became the basis of deep resentment toward Soviet authorities, manifested in numerous [[Anti-Soviet resistance in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|resistance movements to Soviet rule]].<ref>Tismaneanu Report, p. 755-758</ref> In 1946, as a result of a severe drought and excessive delivery quota obligations and requisitions imposed by the Soviet government, the southwestern part of the USSR suffered from a major famine resulting in a minimum of 115,000 deaths among the peasants.<ref name="CKing-p96">[[Charles King (professor of international affairs)|Charles King]], ''The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture'', Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000. {{ISBN|0-8179-9792-X}}. p. 96</ref> During [[Leonid Brezhnev]]'s 1950–1952 tenure as the First Secretary of the [[Communist Party of Moldova|Communist Party of Moldavia]] (CPM), he was ruthless compared to his predecessor [[Nicolae Coval]] in putting down numerous resistance groups, and issuing harsh sentences.<ref>Tismaneanu Report, p. 758</ref> During the [[Operation North]], 723 families (2,617 persons) were deported from the Moldavian SSR, on the night of March 31 to April 1, 1951, members of Neoprotestant sects, mostly [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], qualified as religious elements considered a potential danger for the communist regime.<ref>''Comisia Prezidențială pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România: Raport Final'' / ed.: Vladimir Tismăneanu, Dorin Dobrincu, Cristian Vasile, București: Humanitas, 2007, {{ISBN|978-973-50-1836-8}}, p. 754 {{in lang|ro}}</ref><ref>Elena Șișcanu, ''Basarabia sub ergimul bolşevic (1940–1952)'', București, Ed. Semne, 1998, p.111 {{in lang|ro}}</ref>

[[File:Stamp of Moldova md046st.jpg|thumb|left|[[Romanian Literature Museum, Chișinău]]]]
Most political and academic positions were given to members of non-Romanian ethnic groups (only 17.5% of the Moldavian SSR's political leaders were ethnic Romanians in 1940).<ref>E.S. Lazo, Moldavskaya partiynaya organizatsia v gody stroitelstva sotsializma(1924–1940), Chișinău, Știința, 1981, p. 38</ref><ref>William Crowther, "Ethnicity and Participation in the Communist Party of Moldavia", in Journal of Soviet Nationalities I, no. 1990, p. 148-49</ref>

Although Brezhnev and other CPM first secretaries were largely successful in suppressing Romanian irredentism in the 1950s–1980s, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s administration facilitated the revival of the movement in the region. His policies of [[glasnost]] and [[perestroika]] created conditions in which nationalistic feelings could be openly expressed and in which the Soviet republics could consider reforms.<ref>King, p. 121</ref>

In the 1970s and 1980s Moldova received substantial investment from the budget of the USSR to develop industrial, scientific facilities, as well as housing. In 1971 the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)|Council of Ministers of the USSR]] adopted a decision "About the measures for further development of Kishinev city" that secured more than one billion [[Russian rouble|roubles]] of funds for Chisinau alone from the USSR budget. Subsequent decisions directed large amounts of funds and brought qualified specialists from all over the USSR to further develop the Moldavian SSR.<ref>[http://www.kishinev.info/architecture_en Architecture of Chișinău] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513230114/http://kishinev.info/architecture_en/ |date=2010-05-13 }} on Kishinev.info, Retrieved on 2008-10-12</ref> Such an allocation of USSR assets was influenced by the fact that the-then [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|leader of the Soviet Union]], [[Leonid Brezhnev]], was the First Secretary of the local Communist Party in the 1950s. These investments stopped in 1991 with the [[Belavezha Accords|dissolution of the Soviet Union]], when Moldova became independent.

=== Perestroika and Glasnost ===
{{Main|History of the Soviet Union (1982–1991)|Perestroika|Glasnost}}

In the climate of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s [[perestroika]] and [[glasnost]], national sentiment escalated in the Moldavian SSR in 1988. In 1989, the [[Popular Front of Moldova]] was formed as an association of independent cultural and political groups and gained official recognition. The Popular Front organized a number of large demonstrations, which led to the designation of [[Moldovan language|Moldovan]] as the official language of the MSSR on August 31, 1989, and a return to the Latin alphabet.<ref name="Panici">"[http://dev.eurac.edu:8085/mugs2/do/blob.pdf?type=pdf&serial=1047909431571 Romanian Nationalism in the Republic of Moldova] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927011752/http://dev.eurac.edu:8085/mugs2/do/blob.pdf?type=pdf&serial=1047909431571 |date=2007-09-27 }}" by Andrei Panici, American University in Bulgaria, 2002; pages 39–41</ref>

However, opposition was growing to the increasingly exclusionary nationalist policies of the Popular Front,<ref name="Panici"/> especially in Transnistria, where the [[Unity Movement for Equality in Rights|Yedinstvo-Unitatea]] (Unity) Intermovement had been formed in 1988 by Slavic minorities,<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/moldova/33.htm Political Parties] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006002133/http://countrystudies.us/moldova/33.htm |date=2006-10-06 }}, Fedor, Helen, ed. Moldova: A Country Study. GPO for the [[Library of Congress]], Washington, D.C., 1995</ref> and in the south, where the organization [[Gagauz Halkı]] (''Gagauz People''), formed in November 1989, came to represent the [[Gagauz people|Gagauz]], a Turkic-speaking minority there.

The first democratic elections to the Moldavian SSR's [[Supreme Soviet]] were held on February 25, 1990. Runoff elections were held in March. The Popular Front won a majority of the votes. After the elections, [[Mircea Snegur]], a reformed communist, was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet; in September he became president of the republic.

=== The Path of Independence ===
{{Main|Parade of sovereignties|1991 Soviet coup attempt|Dissolution of the Soviet Union|Transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union|Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union|}}

The reformist government that took over in May 1990 made many changes that did not please the minorities, including changing the republic's name in June from the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova and declaring it sovereign the following month. At the same time, [[Flag of Romania|Romanian tricolor]] with the Moldavian coat-of-arms was adopted as the state flag, and ''[[Deșteaptă-te române!]]'', the Romanian anthem, became the anthem of the SSRM. During that period a [[Unification of Moldova and Romania|Movement for unification of Romania and the Republic of Moldova]] became active in each country.

In August 1990, there was a refusal of the increasingly nationalist republican government to grant cultural and territorial autonomy to Gagauzia and Transnistria, two regions populated primarily by ethnic minorities. In response, the [[Gagauz Republic|Gagauz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]] was declared in the south, in the city of [[Comrat]]. In September in Tiraspol, the main city on the east bank of the [[Dniester River]], the [[Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic]] (commonly called Transnistria) followed suit. The parliament of Moldova immediately declared these declarations null and void.<ref name=rupesinghe5>[http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu12ee/uu12ee0a.htm#5%20from%20declaring%20sovereignty%20to%20declaring%20independence "Ethnicity and power in the contemporary world" Chapter 5, "Dynamics of the Moldova Trans-Dniester ethnic conflict (late 1980s to early 1990s)" – From declaring sovereignty to declaring independence] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527165021/http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu12ee/uu12ee0a.htm |date=2010-05-27 }}, [[Kumar Rupesinghe]] and Valery A. Tishkov, United Nations University Press, 1996</ref>

By mid-October 1990, Moldovan nationalist volunteers had been mobilized to be sent to Gagauzia (approximately 30,000 volunteers participated there) and Transnistria.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.memo.ru/hr/hotpoints/moldavia/minority.htm "О положении национальных меньшинств в Республике Молдова"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023021403/http://www.memo.ru/hr/hotpoints/moldavia/minority.htm |date=2008-10-23 }} human rights assessment by ''[[Memorial (society)|Memorial]]'', May, 1992</ref> However, negotiations in Moscow between the Gagauz and Transnistrian leadership, and the government of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova failed.

In May 1991, the country's official name was changed to the Republic of Moldova (Republica Moldova).<ref name=rupesinghe5 /> The name of the Supreme Soviet also was changed, to the Moldovan Parliament.

During the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt]] in Moscow against Mikhail Gorbachev, commanders of the Soviet Union's Southwestern Theater of Military Operations attempted to impose a state of emergency in Moldova. They were overruled by the Moldovan government, which declared its support for Russian president [[Boris Yeltsin]], who led the counter-coup in Moscow.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present|last1=Roberts|first1=Adam|last2=Garton Ash|first2=Timothy|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=9780199552016|pages=109–110}}</ref>

== Republic of Moldova (1991–present) ==
{{Main|Republic of Moldova|History of independent Moldova|Politics of Moldova}}

=== Independent country and Transnistria conflict ===
{{Main|Independence of Moldova|Declaration of Independence of Moldova|Transnistria|Transnistria conflict|War of Transnistria}}

[[File:Stamp of Moldova md394-6a.jpg|thumb|[[Triumphal Arch, Chișinău|Triumphal Arch]]]]
On 27 August 1991, following the coup's collapse, Moldova [[Moldovan Declaration of Independence|declared its independence]] from the Soviet Union.
[[Post-Soviet countries]] have signed a [[Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union|series of treaties and agreements to settle the legacy of the former Soviet Union]] multilaterally and bilaterally.

The December elections of [[Stepan Topal]] and [[Igor Smirnov (politician)|Igor Smirnov]] as presidents of Gagauzia and Transnistria respectively, and the official dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the year, had further increased tensions in Moldova.<ref name=rupesinghe6>{{cite web|url=http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu12ee/uu12ee0b.htm#7+large+scale+inter+ethnic+violence|title=6 The august 1991 coup attempt and the transition to independence|website=unu.edu|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310231622/http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu12ee/uu12ee0b.htm#7+large+scale+inter+ethnic+violence|archive-date=10 March 2009}}</ref>

[[File:TransnistrianRegionMap.png|thumb|right|200px|[[Transnistria]]n region of Moldova]]
Transnistria is the region east of the [[Dniester River]], which includes a large proportion of predominantly [[Russophone]] ethnic Russians and Ukrainians (51%, as of 1989, with ethnic Moldovans forming a 40% minority). The headquarters of the Soviet 14th Guards Army was located in the regional capital Tiraspol. There, on September 2, 1990, local authorities proclaimed an independent [[Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic]].<ref name="rupesinghe5"/> The motives behind this move were fear of the rise of nationalism in Moldova and the country's expected reunification with [[Romania]] upon secession from the USSR. In the winter of 1991–1992 clashes occurred between Transnistrian forces and the Moldovan police. Between March 2 and July 26, 1992, the conflict escalated into a military engagement. Following [[Russian military presence in Transnistria|Russian intervention]] of the [[14th Guards Army]] into the conflict on the side of the separatists, the war was stopped and the Moscow Agreement on the principles of peace settlement of armed conflict in Trans-Dniester districts of the republic of Moldova was signed on 21 July 1992.<ref name=rupesinghe6/>

As of 2007, the Russian military remains in Transnistria, despite Russia having signed international agreements to withdraw, and against the will of Moldovan government.<ref name="astratan">[http://www.mfa.md/mass-media-and-public-relation/new-york-01102007-en/ Statement by H.E. Mr. Andrei Stratan at the General Debate of the Sixty Second Session of the UN General Assembly, New-York, 1 October 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005033122/http://www.mfa.md/mass-media-and-public-relation/new-york-01102007-en/ |date=5 October 2008 }}: "I would like to reiterate on this occasion the position of the Republic of Moldova according to which the withdrawal of the Russian troops that remain on the Moldovan territory against its will, in conformity with the obligations assumed by the Russian Federation in 1999 in Istanbul, would create the necessary premises for ratifying and applying the Adapted CFE Treaty."</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2368523 |title=Moldovan President Wants Out of Russia's Orbit - Eurasia Daily Monitor |access-date=2009-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204004958/http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2368523 |archive-date=2007-12-04 }} Jamestown: "Moldovan President wants out of Russia's orbit"</ref> The government of Moldova continues to offer extensive autonomy to Transnistria, while the government of Transnistria demands independence. ''[[De jure]]'', Transnistria is internationally recognized as part of Moldova, but ''[[de facto]]'', the Moldovan government does not exercise any control over the territory.<ref name="lang matei">{{in lang|ro}} Horia C. Matei, "State lumii. Enciclopedie de istorie." Meronia, București, 2006, p. 292-294</ref>

=== Early years of independence (1991–2001) ===
On 8 December 1991, [[Mircea Snegur]], an ex-communist reformer, ran an unopposed [[1991 Moldovan presidential election|election for the presidency]]. On March 2, 1992, the country achieved formal recognition as an independent state at the [[United Nations]].<ref>[http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Republic%20of%20Moldova Republic of Moldova] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702204545/http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Republic%20of%20Moldova |date=2010-07-02}} at data.un.org</ref>

In 1992, Moldova became involved in a brief conflict against local insurgents in Transnistria, who were aided by the Russian [[14th Guards Army]] and Russian, Ukrainian and [[Don Cossacks|Don Cossack]] volunteers, which resulted in the failure of Moldova, supported by Romania, to regain control over the breakaway republic.

Starting 1993, Moldova began to distance itself from Romania. The [[Constitution of Moldova (1994)|1994 Constitution of Moldova]] used the term "Moldovan language" instead of "Romanian" and changed the national anthem to "[[Limba noastră]]".

On January 2, 1992, Moldova introduced a [[market economy]], liberalizing prices, which resulted in huge [[inflation]]. From 1992 to 2001, the young country suffered its worst economic crisis, leaving most of the population below the poverty line. In 1993, a national currency, the [[Moldovan leu]], was introduced to replace the [[Soviet rouble]]. The end of the [[planned economy]] also meant that industrial enterprises would have to buy supplies and sell their goods by themselves, and most of the management was unprepared for such a change.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Moldova's industry, especially machine building, became all but defunct, and unemployment skyrocketed.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} The economic fortunes of Moldova began to change in 2001; since then the country has seen a steady annual growth of between 5% and 10%. In the early 2000s, there was also a considerable growth of emigration of Moldovans looking for work (mostly illegally) in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Russia and other countries.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Remittances from Moldovans abroad account for almost 38% of Moldova's [[GDP]], the second-highest percentage in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://economie.moldova.org/stiri/eng/171400/|title=Moldova: Information Campaign to Increase the Efficiency of Remittance Flows|publisher=International Organization for Migration|date=10 December 2008}}{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=SheriffIsInTown |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Officially, Moldova's annual GDP is on the order of $1,000 per capita; however, a significant part of the economy goes unregistered as a result of [[Corruption in Moldova|corruption]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Moldova Corruption Profile|url=http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/moldova/show-all.aspx|publisher=Business Anti-Corruption Portal|accessdate=14 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715001829/http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/moldova/show-all.aspx|archive-date=15 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The pro-nationalist governments of prime ministers Mircea Druc (May 25, 1990 – May 28, 1991), and [[Valeriu Muravschi]] (May 28, 1991 – July 1, 1992), were followed by a more moderate government of [[Andrei Sangheli]], during which there was a decline of the pro-Romanian nationalist sentiment.<ref>Helen Fedor, ed. [http://countrystudies.us/moldova/30.htm ''Moldova: A Country Study''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121075149/http://countrystudies.us/moldova/30.htm |date=2010-11-21}} Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1995.</ref> After the 1994 elections, Moldovan Parliament adopted measures that distanced Moldova from Romania.<ref name="lang matei"/> The new Moldovan Constitution also provided for autonomy for Transnistria and Gagauzia. On December 23, 1994, the Parliament of Moldova adopted a "Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia", and in 1995 it was constituted.<ref>alegeri.md: [http://www.alegeri.md/en/about-gagauz-atu/ "About Gagauz ATU"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722085641/http://www.alegeri.md/en/about-gagauz-atu/ |date=2011-07-22}}</ref>

After winning the presidential elections of 1996, on January 15, 1997, [[Petru Lucinschi]], the former First Secretary of the [[Moldavian Communist Party]] in 1989–91, became the country's second president. After the legislative elections on March 22, 1998, the Alliance for Democracy and Reform was formed by non-Communist parties. However, the term of the new government of Prime Minister [[Ion Ciubuc]] (January 24, 1997– February 1, 1999) was marked by chronic political instability, which prevented a coherent reform program.<ref name="lang matei"/> The [[1998 Russian financial crisis|1998 financial crisis in Russia]], Moldova's main economic partner at the time, produced an economic crisis in the country. The standard of living plunged, with 75% of population living below the poverty line, while the economic disaster caused 600,000 people to emigrate.<ref name="lang matei"/>

New governments were formed by [[Ion Sturza]] (February 19 – November 9, 1999) and [[Dumitru Braghiş]] (December 21, 1999 – April 19, 2001). On July 21, 2000, the Parliament adopted an amendment to the Constitution that transformed Moldova from a presidential to a parliamentary republic, in which the president is elected by three fifths of the votes in the parliament, and no longer directly by the people.<ref name="lang matei"/>

=== Dominance of the Communists (2001–2009) ===

[[File:Md2002 kramar.jpg|thumb|left|2002 protests]]
Only 3 of the 31 political parties won more than the 6% of the popular vote required to win seats in parliament in the February 25, 2001 elections. Winning 49.9% of the vote, the [[Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova]] (reinstituted in 1993 after being outlawed in 1991), gained 71 of the 101 parliament seats, and elected [[Vladimir Voronin]] as the country's third president on April 4, 2001. A new government was formed on April 19, 2001, by [[Vasile Tarlev]]. The country became the first post-Soviet state where a non-reformed communist party returned to power.<ref name="lang matei" /> In March–April 2002, the opposition [[Christian-Democratic People's Party (Moldova)|Christian-Democratic People's Party]] organized a mass protest in Chișinău against the plans of the government to fulfill its electoral promise and introduce [[Russian language|Russian]] as the second state language along with its compulsory study in schools.<ref>BBC News: [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1751223.stm "Forced Russian lessons spark Moldova protest "] , 9 January 2002</ref> The government annulled these plans.

The relationship between Moldova and Russia deteriorated in November 2003 over a [[Kozak memorandum|Russian proposal]] for the solution of the [[Transnistria conflict]], which Moldovan authorities refused to accept<ref>Dr. Mihai Gribincea: "[http://politicom.moldova.org/news/russian-troops-in-transnistria-a-threat-to-the-security-of-the-republic-of-moldova-20998-eng.html Russian troops in Transnistria – a threat to the security of the Republic of Moldova] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512230751/http://politicom.moldova.org/news/russian-troops-in-transnistria-a-threat-to-the-security-of-the-republic-of-moldova-20998-eng.html |date=2013-05-12 }}"</ref> because it stipulated a 20-year Russian military presence in Moldova. The federalization plan for Moldova would have also turned Transnistria and Gagauzia into a [[Veto|blocking minority]] over all major policy matters of Moldova. As of 2006, approximately 1,200 of the 14th Army personnel remain stationed in Transnistria, guarding a large ammunitions depot at [[Colbasna]]. In recent years, negotiations between the Transnistrian and Moldovan leaders have been going on under the mediation of the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE), Russia, and Ukraine; lately observers from the [[European Union]] and the United States have become involved, creating a [[5+2 format]].

In the wake of the November 2003 deadlock with Russia, a series of shifts in the external policy of Moldova occurred, targeted at rapprochement with the European Union. In the context of the EU's expansion to the east, Moldova wants to sign the Stability and Association Agreement. It implemented its first three-year action plan within the framework of the [[European Neighborhood Policy]] (ENP) of the EU.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/40/|title=Moldova-EU Action Plan Approved by European Commission |publisher=www.azi.md|date=December 14, 2004|access-date=July 2, 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204031935/http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/40/|archive-date=December 4, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/action_plans/moldova_enp_ap_final_en.pdf|title=EU/Moldova Action Plan|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815021723/http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/action_plans/moldova_enp_ap_final_en.pdf|archive-date=2009-08-15}}</ref>

In the [[2005 Moldovan parliamentary election|March 2005 elections]], the Party of the Communists (PCRM) won 46% of the vote, (56 of the 101 seats in the Parliament), the Democratic Moldova Block (BMD) won 28.5% of the vote (34 MPs), and the [[Christian-Democratic People's Party (Moldova)|Christian Democratic People Party]] (PPCD) won 9.1% (11 MPs). On April 4, 2005, [[Vladimir Voronin]] was re-elected as country's president, supported by a part of the opposition, and on April 8, Vasile Tarlev was again appointed head of government.<ref name="lang matei" /> On March 31, 2008, Vasile Tarlev was replaced by [[Zinaida Greceanîi]] as head of the government.

[[File:Chisinau riot 2009-04-07 23.jpg|thumb|[[2009 Moldova civil unrest|2009 civil unrest]]]]
Following the [[April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election|parliamentary elections]] on April 5, 2009, the Communist Party won 49.48% of the votes, followed by the Liberal Party with 13.14% of the votes, the Liberal Democratic Party with 12.43% and the Alliance "Moldova Noastră" with 9.77%. The opposition leaders have protested against the outcome calling it fraudulent and demanded a repeated election. A preliminary report by OSCE observers called the vote generally free and fair. However, one member of the OSCE observation team expressed concerns over that conclusion and said that she and a number of other team members feel that there had been some manipulation, but they were unable to find any proof.<ref name="bbcroblamed">[[BBC]]: "[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7989360.stm Romania blamed over Moldova riots] ", 8 April 2009</ref>

On April 6, 2009, several [[NGO]]s and opposition parties organized a protest in Chișinău, gathering a crowd of about 15,000 with the help of social network sites such as [[Twitter]] and [[Facebook]]. The protesters accused the Communist government of electoral fraud. Anti-communist and pro-Romanian slogans were widely used. The demonstration had spun out of control on April 7 and [[2009 Moldova civil unrest|escalated into a riot]] when a part of the crowd attacked the presidential offices and broke into the parliament building, looting and setting its interior on fire.<ref>SevenTimes.ro: [http://www.seventimes.ro/politics/supporting_actions_for_moldovas_riot.html "Supporting actions for Moldova's riot"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121031517/http://seventimes.ro/politics/supporting_actions_for_moldovas_riot.html |date=2010-01-21 }}, 08 April 2009</ref><ref name="omg.md">"[http://omg.md/Content.aspx?id=2437&lang=2 The protest initiative group: LDPM is the guilty one for the devastations in the Chișinău downtown]{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}", April 08, 2009</ref> Police had regained control on the night of April 8, arresting and detaining several hundred protesters. Numerous detainees reported beatings by the police when released.<ref name="omg.md"/><ref name="Violent protests after Moldova poll">[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] English: "[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/04/20094793543800737.html Violent protests after Moldova poll] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410065058/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/04/20094793543800737.html |date=2009-04-10 }}", 7 April 2009.</ref> The violence on both sides (demonstrators and police) was condemned by the OSCE and other international organizations.<ref>OSCE press release: "[http://www.osce.org/item/37175.html OSCE Mission to Moldova condemns post-election violence and appeals to all sides for restraint] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005015646/http://www.osce.org/item/37175.html |date=2009-10-05 }}"</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-55247-124-05-19-903-20090506IPR55246-04-05-2009-2009-false/default_de.htm|title= Moldova: MEPs condemn grave violations of human rights following parliamentary elections|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090513071719/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-55247-124-05-19-903-20090506IPR55246-04-05-2009-2009-false/default_de.htm|archive-date= 2009-05-13}}</ref> Three young people died during the day the protests took place. The opposition blamed police abuse for these deaths, while the government claimed they were either unrelated to the protests, or accidents. Government officials, including President Vladimir Voronin, called the rioting a [[coup d'état]] attempt and accused Romania of organizing it.<ref name="bbcroblamed" /> The opposition accused the government of organizing the riots by introducing [[agent provocateur|agents provocateurs]] among the protesters. The political climate in Moldova remained unstable. The parliament failed to elect a new president.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/271566,moldova-parliament-fails-to-elect-president-crisis-deepens--summary.html|title= Moldova parliament fails to elect president, crisis deepens|access-date= 2009-09-01|archive-date= 2012-09-05|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120905081751/http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/271566,moldova-parliament-fails-to-elect-president-crisis-deepens--summary.html|url-status= live}}</ref> For this reason, the parliament was dissolved and [[July 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election|new general elections]] were held on July 29, 2009, with the Communists losing power to the [[Alliance for European Integration]], a pro-European coalition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/30/moldova-votes-communists-out|title=Moldova votes out Europe's last ruling Communists|first=Luke|last=Harding|date=30 July 2009|website=the Guardian|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308082320/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/30/moldova-votes-communists-out|archive-date=8 March 2018}}</ref>

=== Liberal Democrat and Socialist administrations ===
An attempt by the new ruling coalition to amend the constitution of Moldova via [[2010 Moldovan constitutional referendum|a referendum in 2010]] in order to enable presidential election by popular vote failed due to lack of turnout. The [[2010 Moldovan parliamentary election|parliamentary election]] in November 2010 had retained the status quo between the ruling coalition and the communist opposition. On 16 March 2012,<ref name=March>{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/moldova_parliament_election/24507831.html |title=Moldovan Parliament Sets Presidential Election For March 16 |publisher=Rferl.org |date=7 March 2012 |access-date=16 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315194126/http://www.rferl.org/content/moldova_parliament_election/24507831.html |archive-date=15 March 2012 }}</ref> parliament elected [[Nicolae Timofti]] as president by 62 votes out of 101, with the PCRM boycotting the election, putting an end to a political crisis that had lasted since [[April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election|April 2009]]. Moldova had no had full-time president, but three acting presidents, since Vladimir Voronin resigned in September 2009.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nicolae Timofti finally elected Moldova President |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17398641 |work=BBC News |date=16 March 2012 |access-date=25 October 2022 |archive-date=25 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025194512/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17398641 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost1">[[Washington Post]], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/moldova-elects-pro-european-judge-timofti-as-president-ending-3-years-of-political-deadlock/2012/03/16/gIQAl3s8FS_story.html Moldova elects pro-European judge Timofti as president, ending 3 years of political deadlock] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317062102/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/moldova-elects-pro-european-judge-timofti-as-president-ending-3-years-of-political-deadlock/2012/03/16/gIQAl3s8FS_story.html |date=2012-03-17 }}</ref> In the November 2014 [[2014 Moldovan parliamentary election|elections]] the pro-European parties maintained their majority in parliament.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-moldova-election-idUSKCN0JE0WD20141201 |title=Moldova set to press on with pro-Europe course after election|first=Richard |last=Balmforth|date=1 December 2014 |work=Reuters |access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023003229/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/01/us-moldova-election-idUSKCN0JE0WD20141201|archive-date=23 October 2015}}</ref>

In November 2016, pro-Russia candidate [[Igor Dodon]] won the presidential [[2016 Moldovan presidential election|election]], defeating his rival [[Maia Sandu]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.dw.com/en/pro-russia-candidate-igor-dodon-to-win-moldova-presidential-election/a-36379350|title = Pro-Russia candidate Igor Dodon to win Moldova presidential election &#124; DW &#124; 13.11.2016|website = [[Deutsche Welle]]|access-date = 2021-04-11|archive-date = 2021-04-11|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210411122001/https://www.dw.com/en/pro-russia-candidate-igor-dodon-to-win-moldova-presidential-election/a-36379350|url-status = live}}</ref> The 2019 parliamentary [[2019 Moldovan parliamentary election|election]] resulted a vote split between pro-Western and pro-Russian forces. The opposition [[Socialist Party of Moldova|Socialists]], who favor closer ties to Moscow, became the largest party with 35 out of 101 seats. The ruling [[European Social Democratic Party|Social Democratic Party]], which wants closer integration with the EU, came second with 30 seats. Opposition bloc called [[NOW Platform DA and PAS|ACUM]], campaigning with anti-corruption agenda, was third with 26 seats.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-moldova-election-results/moldova-set-for-coalition-talks-after-inconclusive-election-idUSKCN1QE11O |title=Moldova set for coalition talks after inconclusive election |first=Alexander |last=Tanas |date=25 February 2019 |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=2021-04-11 |archive-date=2021-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329162545/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-moldova-election-results/moldova-set-for-coalition-talks-after-inconclusive-election-idUSKCN1QE11O |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, from 7 June to 15 June, the Moldovan government went through a period of dual power in what is known as the [[2019 Moldovan constitutional crisis]].<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/world/europe/moldova-new-government.htm {{Dead link|date=December 2021}}</ref> In November 2019, [[Ion Chicu]] became new Prime Minister, following the fall of the former government led by pro-Western Maia Sandu.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://balkaninsight.com/2019/11/14/moldovas-parliament-votes-in-ion-chicu-as-new-pm/|title = Moldova's Parliament Backs Ion Chicu as New PM|date = 14 November 2019|access-date = 11 April 2021|archive-date = 4 March 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200304012518/https://balkaninsight.com/2019/11/14/moldovas-parliament-votes-in-ion-chicu-as-new-pm/|url-status = live}}</ref>

====COVID-19 pandemic====
In March 2020, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the government called a "national red code alert" as the number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to six on 13 March 2020. Government "banned all gatherings of over 50 people until 1 April 2020 and closed all schools and kindergartens in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus". Flights were banned to Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, the U.K., Poland, Portugal and Romania.<ref name="sn1">{{cite news |title=Moldova calls national code red alert over coronavirus, bans flights |url=https://seenews.com/news/moldova-calls-national-code-red-alert-over-coronavirus-bans-flights-690722 |publisher=SeeNews |date=13 March 2020 |access-date=20 March 2020 |archive-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320085540/https://seenews.com/news/moldova-calls-national-code-red-alert-over-coronavirus-bans-flights-690722 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 17 March, Parliament declared a [[state of emergency]] for at least 60 days, suspended all international flights and closed borders with neighbours Romania and Ukraine. Moldova reported 29 cases of the disease on 17 March 2020.<ref name="sn2">{{cite news |title=Moldova declares state of emergency over coronavirus outbreak |url=https://seenews.com/news/moldova-declares-state-of-emergency-over-coronavirus-outbreak-691151 |publisher=SeeNews |date=17 March 2020 |access-date=20 March 2020 |archive-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320084038/https://seenews.com/news/moldova-declares-state-of-emergency-over-coronavirus-outbreak-691151 |url-status=live }}</ref> The country reported its first death from the disease on 18 March 2020, when the total number of cases reached 30.<ref name="atr">{{cite news |title=Moldova reports first death from coronavirus, health ministry says |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-moldova/moldova-reports-first-death-from-coronavirus-health-ministry-says-idUSKBN2150U4 |publisher=Reuters |date=18 March 2020 |access-date=20 March 2020 |archive-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320072524/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-moldova/moldova-reports-first-death-from-coronavirus-health-ministry-says-idUSKBN2150U4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the [[World Health Organization]], between 3 January 2020 and 28 June 2023, there have been 620,717 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 12,124 deaths. {{as of|2023|7|11|lc=n}}, a total of 2,288,948 vaccine doses have been administered.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Republic of Moldova: WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard With Vaccination Data |url=https://covid19.who.int/ |access-date=5 July 2023 |website=[[World Health Organization]] |language=en |archive-date=16 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416183953/https://covid19.who.int/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Moldova is among the first countries in the WHO European Region to conduct a COVID-19 intra-action review (IAR) upon the request of Moldova's [[Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (Moldova)|Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 February 2021 |title=COVID-19 response review in the Republic of Moldova informs next steps |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/24-02-2021-covid-19-response-review-in-the-republic-of-moldova-informs-next-steps |access-date=5 July 2023 |website=[[World Health Organization]] |language=en |archive-date=5 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705141610/https://www.who.int/news/item/24-02-2021-covid-19-response-review-in-the-republic-of-moldova-informs-next-steps |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Presidency of Maia Sandu (since 2020) ===
{{See also|Maia Sandu|Party of Action and Solidarity}}

[[File:Maia Sandu at Batumi International Conference, on 19 July 2021.jpg|thumb|[[Maia Sandu]] at [[Batumi]] International Conference, on 19 July 2021.]]
In the [[2020 Moldovan presidential election|November 2020 presidential election]], the pro-European opposition candidate [[Maia Sandu]] was elected as the new president of the republic, becoming the first female elected president of Moldova.<ref>{{Cite news|date=16 November 2020|title=Moldova election: Pro-EU candidate Maia Sandu wins presidency|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54942847|access-date=27 July 2021|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424114019/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54942847|url-status=live}}</ref> Prime Minister [[Ion Chicu]] resigned a day before Sandu was sworn in.<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 December 2020|title=Moldova's pro-Russian prime minister Ion Chicu resigns|url=https://www.euronews.com/2020/12/23/moldova-s-pro-russian-prime-minister-ion-chicu-resigns|access-date=27 July 2021|website=euronews|language=en|archive-date=16 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716160714/https://www.euronews.com/2020/12/23/moldova-s-pro-russian-prime-minister-ion-chicu-resigns|url-status=live}}</ref> The parliament, dominated by pro-Russian Socialists, did not accept any Prime Minister candidate proposed by the new president.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2021/03/25/moldova-parliament-rejects-proposed-pm-bringing-elections-nearer/|title=Moldova Parliament Rejects Proposed PM, Bringing Elections Nearer|date=25 March 2021|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815162920/https://balkaninsight.com/2021/03/25/moldova-parliament-rejects-proposed-pm-bringing-elections-nearer/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 28 April 2021, Sandu dissolved the [[Parliament of the Republic of Moldova]] after the [[Constitutional Court of Moldova|Constitutional Court]] ended Moldova's [[state of emergency]] which had been brought about by the [[coronavirus pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 April 2021|title=Moldovan leader dissolves parliament, sets July elections|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210428-moldovan-leader-dissolves-parliament-sets-july-elections|access-date=1 May 2021|website=France 24|language=en|archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428181328/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210428-moldovan-leader-dissolves-parliament-sets-july-elections|url-status=live}}</ref> Parliamentary elections [[2021 Moldovan parliamentary election|took place]] on 11 July 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Moldova's president calls early election for July 11|url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-coronavirus-health-government-and-politics-0527c82d101cab326f3d96a3c3f4f54f|access-date=1 May 2021|website=AP NEWS|date=28 April 2021|archive-date=1 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501125629/https://apnews.com/article/elections-coronavirus-health-government-and-politics-0527c82d101cab326f3d96a3c3f4f54f|url-status=live}}</ref> The snap parliamentary elections resulted in a landslide win for the pro-European [[Party of Action and Solidarity]] (PAS).<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 July 2021|title=President Sandu's party wins landslide victory in Moldova's snap election|url=https://www.intellinews.com/president-sandu-s-party-wins-landslide-victory-in-moldova-s-snap-election-215371/|access-date=27 July 2021|website=www.intellinews.com|language=en|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727203937/https://www.intellinews.com/president-sandu-s-party-wins-landslide-victory-in-moldova-s-snap-election-215371/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:2023-05-31 Visit of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to Moldova P061234-676514.jpg|thumb|[[Ursula von der Leyen]], President of the European Commission, and [[Maia Sandu]], President of Moldova on 31 May 2023.]]
Since [[Maia Sandu]] was elected, the country has pursued the goal of [[Accession of Moldova to the European Union|full membership of the European Union by 2030]] as well as deeper co-operation with [[NATO]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Suzanne |date=20 January 2023 |title=Time to join NATO? Moldova eyes joining 'a larger alliance' |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/maia-sandu-moldova-nato-alliance-joining-ukraine-war-russia-invasion/ |access-date=2 August 2023 |website=[[Politico]] |language=en |archive-date=21 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121000423/https://www.politico.eu/article/maia-sandu-moldova-nato-alliance-joining-ukraine-war-russia-invasion/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Timu |first1=Andra |last2=Vilcu |first2=Irina |date=31 May 2023 |title=Moldova Sees EU Entry by 2030 Along With Russian-Occupied Region |language=en |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-31/moldova-sees-eu-entry-by-2030-along-with-russian-occupied-region |access-date=5 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Suzanne |date=20 January 2023 |title=Time to join NATO? Moldova eyes joining 'a larger alliance' |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/maia-sandu-moldova-nato-alliance-joining-ukraine-war-russia-invasion/ |access-date=5 July 2023 |website=[[Politico]] |language=en |archive-date=21 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121000423/https://www.politico.eu/article/maia-sandu-moldova-nato-alliance-joining-ukraine-war-russia-invasion/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This resulted in Moldova signing the membership application to join the EU on 3 March 2022 and on 23 June 2022, Moldova was officially granted [[Potential enlargement of the European Union|candidate status]] by EU leaders.

Fighting corruption has been a major government initiative, one also essential to EU membership. On 8 June 2021, Sandu signed off on the creation of an extra-governmental corruption monitoring body after declaring the state's own institutions "too slow". The six-member panel of the 'Anticorruption Independent Consultative Committee' will be co-chaired by United States diplomat [[James Wasserstrom]], includes economists, jurists and journalists and is partially funded by the European Union and United States.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 June 2021 |title=Moldovan President anoints independent anti-corruption body |url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/06/08/president-of-moldova-maia-sandu-launches-committee-to-investigate-grand-corruption |access-date=5 July 2023 |website=[[Euronews]] |language=en |archive-date=5 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705114348/https://www.euronews.com/2021/06/08/president-of-moldova-maia-sandu-launches-committee-to-investigate-grand-corruption |url-status=live }}</ref> This was followed by the Moldovan government suspending the Prosecutor General [[Alexandr Stoianoglo|Alexandru Stoianoglo]] in relation to charges of corruption, former Moldovan Prime Minister [[Iurie Leancă|Iurie Leanca]] was charged with [[abuse of power]], the former President [[Igor Dodon]] was arrested by the Moldovan authorities on charges of corruption for the receipt of bribes.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 August 2022 |title=Alexandr Stoianoglo reacționează la suspiciunea de îmbogățire ilicită |language=ro |work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |url=https://moldova.europalibera.org/a/alexandr-stoianoglo-reac%C8%9Bioneaz%C4%83-la-suspiciunea-de-%C3%AEmbog%C4%83%C8%9Bire-ilicit%C4%83/31976486.html |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801185446/https://moldova.europalibera.org/a/alexandr-stoianoglo-reac%C8%9Bioneaz%C4%83-la-suspiciunea-de-%C3%AEmbog%C4%83%C8%9Bire-ilicit%C4%83/31976486.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tanas |first=Alexander |date=2 May 2023 |title=Moldovan ex-prime minister charged over airport concession |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldovan-ex-prime-minister-charged-over-airport-concession-2023-05-02/ |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801184458/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldovan-ex-prime-minister-charged-over-airport-concession-2023-05-02/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 May 2022 |title=Moldova places former President Dodon under house arrest |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldova-places-former-president-dodon-under-house-arrest-2022-05-26/ |access-date=5 July 2023 |archive-date=5 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705100020/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldova-places-former-president-dodon-under-house-arrest-2022-05-26/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia's invasion of Ukraine]] caused significant economic turmoil in Moldova throughout 2022, in particular due to its reliance at that time on Russian oil and gas, with annual inflation surging to 22% and growth falling from a post-COVID surge of 14% to 0.3%.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Champion |first=Marc |date=8 May 2022 |title=Ukraine's Tiny Neighbor Suffers Economic Fallout From the War |language=en |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-08/war-in-ukraine-puts-tiny-neighbor-moldova-in-economic-peril |access-date=6 July 2023 |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329143453/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-08/war-in-ukraine-puts-tiny-neighbor-moldova-in-economic-peril |url-status=live }}</ref> In response to these shockwaves, the [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (EBRD) put a total of €2bn (£1.74bn) into the Moldovan economy and helped it secure gas supplies, a fivefold increase over 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=O'Carroll |first1=Lisa |date=28 May 2023 |title=EU to step up support for Moldova at summit in face of threat from Russia |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/28/eu-steps-up-support-moldova-leaders-due-attend-summit |access-date=6 July 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=29 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529022308/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/28/eu-steps-up-support-moldova-leaders-due-attend-summit |url-status=live }}</ref> {{as of|2023|06|18|lc=n}}, Moldovan Prime Minister [[Dorin Recean]] confirmed that the country is 100% independent of Russian oil and natural gas. He stated that "Moldova no longer consumes Russian gas, it is integrated in the European energy network both technically and commercially."<ref name="Reuters">{{Cite news |date=18 May 2023 |title=Moldova no longer using Russian natural gas, PM says |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-moldova-primeminister-idINS8N37D05X |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709172624/https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-moldova-primeminister-idINS8N37D05X |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 19 June 2023 the pro-Russian [[Șor Party]] was banned by the [[Constitutional Court of Moldova]] after months of pro-Russian protests seeking to destabilise the Moldovan government.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2023 |title=Moldova bans pro-Russian Shor party after months of destabilisation activism |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/europe-s-east/news/moldova-bans-pro-russian-shor-party-after-months-of-destabilistion-activism/ |access-date=5 July 2023 |website=[[Euractiv]] |language=en-GB |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622052901/https://www.euractiv.com/section/europe-s-east/news/moldova-bans-pro-russian-shor-party-after-months-of-destabilistion-activism/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The court declared the party unconstitutional, with court chairman [[Nicolae Roșca]] citing "an article in the constitution stating that parties must through their activities uphold political pluralism, the rule of law and the territorial integrity of Moldova."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tanas |first=Alexander |date=19 June 2023 |title=Moldova bans pro-Russian Shor party after months of protests |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldova-bans-pro-russian-shor-party-after-months-protests-2023-06-19/ |access-date=5 July 2023 |archive-date=29 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629171315/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldova-bans-pro-russian-shor-party-after-months-protests-2023-06-19/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The party was led by [[Ilan Shor]], a fugitive businessman who fled to Israel in 2019 after being convicted of fraud and money-laundering and sentenced to 15 years in prison ''in absentia''.<ref name="BBC News-2023">{{Cite news |date=19 June 2023 |title=Moldovan court bans pro-Russian party Sor |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65952878 |access-date=5 July 2023 |archive-date=15 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715044718/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65952878 |url-status=live }}</ref> President Sandu welcomed the court's decision.<ref name="BBC News-2023" /> On 26 June, Ilan Shor announced that he would create a new political party in order to contest the upcoming general election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tanas |first=Alexander |date=27 June 2023 |title=Exiled politician announces new Moldova party after ban |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exiled-politician-announces-new-moldova-party-after-ban-2023-06-27/ |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801185730/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exiled-politician-announces-new-moldova-party-after-ban-2023-06-27/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 31 July, the Moldovan parliament voted in favour of banning the leaders of the dissolved pro-Russian [[Șor Party]] – including Ilan Shor – from standing in elections for a period of five years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Service |first=RFE/RL's Moldovan |date=31 July 2023 |title=Moldovan Parliament Bans Leaders Of Dissolved Russia-Backed Party From Elections |language=en |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-shor-party-ban-elections/32527748.html |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-date=31 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731161759/https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-shor-party-ban-elections/32527748.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Leader and founder of the party, [[Ilan Shor|Ilan Șor]], currently a fugitive of the state, has claimed he will contest the ban.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Necșuțu |first=Mădălin |date=1 August 2023 |title=Fugitive Moldovan Oligarch to Contest Ban on Participation in Elections |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2023/08/01/fugitive-moldovan-oligarch-to-contest-ban-on-participation-in-elections/ |access-date=1 August 2023 |website=[[Balkan Insight]] |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801123840/https://balkaninsight.com/2023/08/01/fugitive-moldovan-oligarch-to-contest-ban-on-participation-in-elections/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A clone party, called "ȘANSĂ" or Chance party, led by journalist [[Alexei Lungu]] was established by Ilan Shor,<ref>{{cite web |title="ȘANSA" lui Șor s-a mutat în sediul lui Plahotniuc. Un nou partid clonă al oligarhilor fugari |url=https://tvrmoldova.md/article/d46e6e3dbe4a7805/sansa-lui-sor-s-a-mutat-in-sediul-lui-plahotniuc-un-nou-partid-clona-al-oligarhilor-fugari.html |date=8 August 2023 |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113114925/https://tvrmoldova.md/article/d46e6e3dbe4a7805/sansa-lui-sor-s-a-mutat-in-sediul-lui-plahotniuc-un-nou-partid-clona-al-oligarhilor-fugari.html |url-status=live }}</ref> however it was deregistered two days before the local elections amid claims of using illegal funds from Russia.{{citation needed|date=February 2024|reason=Removed unreliable source}}

Moldovas's pro-Western and pro-Russian factions became increasingly divided following [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia's invasion of Ukraine]] on 24 February 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Welle (www.dw.com) |first1=Deutsche |title=Moldovan ex-president detained for alleged graft, treason {{!}} DW {{!}} 24.05.2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/moldovan-ex-president-detained-for-alleged-graft-treason/a-61913546 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531161600/https://www.dw.com/en/moldovan-ex-president-detained-for-alleged-graft-treason/a-61913546 |archive-date=2022-05-31 |access-date=2022-05-31 |work=DW.COM}}</ref> Moldova's application for [[Accession of Moldova to the European Union|European Union membership]] was submitted on 3 March 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-03 |title=Ultima oră! Moldova a semnat cererea de aderare la Uniunea Europeană: 'Vrem să fim parte a lumii libere' |trans-title=Breaking news! Moldova has signed the EU membership application: 'We want to be part of the free world' |url=https://unimedia.info/ro/news/a8324ceb4727c9a2/ultima-ora-moldova-a-semnat-cererea-de-aderare-la-uniunea-europeana-declaratia-maiei-sandu.html |access-date=2022-03-03 |website=UNIMEDIA |language=ro}}</ref> President Sandu championed the [[2024 Moldovan European Union membership constitutional referendum|2024 European Union membership constitutional referendum]] which was passed by a narrow margin amid widespread interference by the Russian government.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 October 2024 |title=Moldova president alleges vote-buying tainted EU referendum results |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/10/21/moldovas-president-alleges-vote-buying-tainted-eu-referendum-results |website=euronews}}</ref><ref name="bbc-202410212">{{Cite web |last1=Rainsford |first1=Sarah |last2=Gozzi |first2=Laura |date=21 October 2024 |title=Moldova says 'Yes' to pro-EU constitutional changes by tiny margin |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wnr5qdxe7o |access-date=21 October 2024 |website=BBC News}}</ref> In the [[2024 Moldovan presidential election|November 2024 presidential election]], President Maia Sandu was re-elected with 55% of the vote in the run-off.<ref>{{cite news |title=Moldova election: Pro-EU leader wins despite alleged Russian meddling |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7w9dglzzlo |work=www.bbc.com}}</ref>

==== Russia-related events since the invasion of neighbouring Ukraine ====
{{Main|2022 Transnistria attacks|2022 Moldovan energy crisis|2022–2023 Moldovan protests|2023 Moldovan coup d'état attempt allegations}}
In February 2022 Sandu condemned the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]], calling it "a blatant breach of international law and of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity."<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 February 2022|title=The World Reacts to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine|url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/world-reacts-russias-invasion-ukraine|access-date=26 February 2022|website=Lawfare|language=en|archive-date=13 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113123719/https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/world-reacts-russias-invasion-ukraine|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Meeting of the President of Ukraine with the President of the Republic of Moldova in Kyiv (7).jpg|thumb|President of Moldova, [[Maia Sandu]], with President of Ukraine, [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]] in [[Kyiv]], 27 June 2022.]]
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita stated on 28 February 2022 that Moldova should rapidly move to become a member of the [[European Union]] despite Russian objections.<ref>{{cite news |last1=VanderKlippe |first1=Nathan |title=Moldova vows to seek closer ties with Europe despite fears of provoking Russia |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-moldova-vows-to-seek-closer-ties-with-europe-despite-fears-of/ |access-date=28 February 2022 |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=28 February 2022 |language=en-CA |archive-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228014414/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-moldova-vows-to-seek-closer-ties-with-europe-despite-fears-of/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to [[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]], as the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place, the Moldovan government's computer systems used for security operations along the Ukraine border came under attack from Russia. "As the war progressed, pro-Russian social media accounts spread false claims designed to discredit the Moldovan government, and trolls bombarded Moldovan authorities with thousands of fake bomb threats. In August, hackers breached email servers used by the Moldovan president's office; in November, hackers also published thousands of private messages they claimed to have stolen from [[Ana Revenco]], Moldova's minister of internal affairs, and [[Sergiu Litvinenco]], who was then serving as minister of justice."<ref name="Gallagher-2023">{{Cite news |last=Gallagher |first=Ryan |date=20 April 2023 |title=Cyberwar Descends on an Unprepared Moldova |language=en |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-20/russian-cyberattacks-target-moldova-amid-ukraine-war |access-date=6 July 2023}}</ref> A sustained campaign of [[cyberwarfare]] from Russia against Moldova has continued with the war, with "denial-of-service attempts to flood Moldovan government websites with traffic and force them offline. There's also been a sustained campaign of phishing emails targeting government accounts, with more than 1,300 received in early 2023."<ref name="Gallagher-2023" />

According to the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]], since 24 February 2022, more than 780,000 [[Ukrainian refugee crisis (2022–present)|Ukrainian refugees]] were permitted to cross the border into Moldova. Of that number, some 107,000 chose to remain in Moldova, the rest [[seeking asylum]] further afield.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joles |first=Betsy |date=5 May 2022 |title=Moldova Welcomes Ukrainian Refugees but Fears for Its Own Future |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/05/moldova-ukraine-refugees-conflict-russia-eu/ |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=[[Foreign Policy]] |language=en-US |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162608/https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/05/moldova-ukraine-refugees-conflict-russia-eu/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Bryan |date=24 February 2023 |title=Ukrainian refugees in Moldova: Warmly welcomed but dreaming of home |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/02/24/ukrainian-refugees-in-moldova-warmly-welcomed-but-dreaming-of-home |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=[[Euronews]] |language=en |archive-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920150007/https://www.euronews.com/2023/02/24/ukrainian-refugees-in-moldova-warmly-welcomed-but-dreaming-of-home |url-status=live }}</ref>

The country has received praise from the United Nations for its efforts to protect Ukrainian refugees, despite being among the poorest nations in Europe.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Dunmore |first1=Charlie |last2=Odobescu |first2=Irina |date=18 May 2022 |title=Ukrainian refugees find warm welcome in neighbouring Moldova |work=[[UNHCR]] |url=https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/ukrainian-refugees-find-warm-welcome-neighbouring-moldova |access-date=6 July 2023 |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707163740/https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/ukrainian-refugees-find-warm-welcome-neighbouring-moldova |url-status=live }}</ref> About 75% of the Ukrainian refugees in Moldova have been hosted by ordinary Moldovan families, sharing their homes with their new guests.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MOLDOVA FOR PEACE – Moldova Travel |url=https://moldova.travel/en/moldova-pentru-pace/ |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=moldova.travel |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707161946/https://moldova.travel/en/moldova-pentru-pace/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The government's own efforts have been aided by Moldovans for Peace, an NGO civic initiative to provide help to Ukrainian refugees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Initiative {{!}} Moldova Pentru Pace |url=https://moldovapentrupace.md/en/about-us/the-initiative/ |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=Moldova For Peace |language=en-GB |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162514/https://moldovapentrupace.md/en/about-us/the-initiative/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[World Health Organization]] has stated that "The Republic of Moldova's authorities and humanitarian entities have demonstrated leadership in responding to the needs of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine."<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 March 2023 |title=Enabling support for Ukrainian refugees with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova |url=https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/16-03-2023-enabling-support-for-ukrainian-refugees-with-disabilities-in-the-republic-of-moldova |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=[[World Health Organization]] |language=en |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162238/https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/16-03-2023-enabling-support-for-ukrainian-refugees-with-disabilities-in-the-republic-of-moldova |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 26 April 2022, authorities from the Transnistria region said two transmitting antennas broadcasting Russian radio programs at [[Grigoriopol transmitter]] broadcasting facility near the town of [[Maiac]] in the [[Grigoriopol District]] near the Ukrainian border [[2022 Transnistria attacks|had been blown up]] and the previous evening, the premises of the [[Ministry of State Security (Transnistria)|Transnistrian state security service]] had been attacked.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nechepurenko |first=Ivan |date=25 April 2022 |title=Explosions hit Transnistria, a Russian-allied region of Moldova, amid fears of a new front in the war. |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/world/europe/explosions-transnistria-moldova-ukraine.html |access-date=1 August 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801193145/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/world/europe/explosions-transnistria-moldova-ukraine.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Moldova: Attacks in contested region of Transnistria raise fears of Ukraine war spreading |url=https://news.sky.com/story/moldova-attacks-in-contested-region-of-transnistria-raise-fears-of-ukraine-war-spreading-over-the-border-12600703 |access-date=1 August 2023 |website=Sky News |language=en |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801193145/https://news.sky.com/story/moldova-attacks-in-contested-region-of-transnistria-raise-fears-of-ukraine-war-spreading-over-the-border-12600703 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:TIraspol Transnistria (13954559507).jpg|thumb|Russian soldiers in Tiraspol, Transnistria.]]
The Russian army has a military base and a large ammunition dump in the region. Russia has about 1,500 soldiers stationed in breakaway Transnistria. They are supposed to serve there as peacekeepers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Solovyov |first=Vladimir |date=23 September 2022 |title=Ukraine War Risks Repercussions for Transnistria |work=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]] |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/87986 |access-date=6 July 2023 |archive-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920131201/https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/87986 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In March 2022, the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]] recognized Transnistria as "a Moldovan territory occupied by Russia."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Necșuțu |first=Mădălin |date=16 March 2022 |title=Council of Europe Designates Transnistria 'Russian Occupied Territory' |work=[[Balkan Insight]] |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/03/16/council-of-europe-designates-transnistria-russian-occupied-territory/ |access-date=3 August 2023 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115110239/https://balkaninsight.com/2022/03/16/council-of-europe-designates-transnistria-russian-occupied-territory/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 24 February, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that an attack "on Transnistria would be "an attack on the Russian Federation."<ref name="The Kyiv Independent-2023">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-24 |title=Russian Foreign Ministry: Attack on Transnistria would be an 'attack' on Russia |url=https://kyivindependent.com/russian-foreign-ministry-attack-on-transnistria-would-be-an-attack-on-russia/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=[[The Kyiv Independent]] |language=en |archive-date=25 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925111912/https://kyivindependent.com/russian-foreign-ministry-attack-on-transnistria-would-be-an-attack-on-russia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to ''[[The Kyiv Independent]],'' "There is speculation that this is a facade for a Russian plan to invade or destabilize Moldova."<ref name="The Kyiv Independent-2023" /> President Sandu dismissed that Moldova intended to invade Transnistria and called for calm.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 February 2023 |title=Moldova dismisses Russian claims of Ukrainian plot to invade breakaway region |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/24/moldova-dismisses-russia-claims-of-ukraine-plot-to-invade-transnistria-region |access-date=3 August 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=2 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602103152/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/24/moldova-dismisses-russia-claims-of-ukraine-plot-to-invade-transnistria-region |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Moldovan government expressed its alarm and concern in April 2023 when Russian soldiers stationed in Transnistria undertook military manoeuvres without seeking Chișinău's consent.<ref name="Necșuțu-2023">{{Cite web |last=Necșuțu |first=Mădălin |date=21 April 2023 |title=Russian Troop Movements in Transnistria Alarm Moldova |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2023/04/21/russian-troop-movements-in-transnistria-alarm-moldova/ |access-date=6 July 2023 |website=[[Balkan Insight]] |language=en-US |archive-date=7 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162227/https://balkaninsight.com/2023/04/21/russian-troop-movements-in-transnistria-alarm-moldova/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Security Zone is managed by the [[Joint Control Commission]] (JCC) which consists of representatives from Moldova, Russia, and the separatist regime in [[Tiraspol]]. "Between February and April, Russian armoured military equipment moved outside the range of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces. The manoeuvre was not coordinated with the Unified Control Commission."<ref name="Necșuțu-2023" /> On 8 May, Transnistria's envoy to Moscow, Leonid Manakov, publicly requested that Russia should send more Russian soldiers into Transnistria because of what it called "growing security risks" from Ukraine and Moldova.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 May 2023 |title=Breakaway Moldovan region suggests Russia deploy more peacekeepers |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/breakaway-moldovan-region-suggests-russia-deploy-more-peacekeepers-ria-2023-05-08/ |access-date=3 August 2023 |archive-date=3 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803133846/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/breakaway-moldovan-region-suggests-russia-deploy-more-peacekeepers-ria-2023-05-08/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Manakov also stated that "As long as Russia's peacekeeping mission continues, Moldova is constrained in any military plans and preparations against Trandsniestria".<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 May 2023 |title=Russian-controlled Transnistria asks Moscow for more 'peacekeepers' |url=https://kyivindependent.com/transnistria-asks-russia-for-more-peacekeepers/ |access-date=3 August 2023 |website=[[The Kyiv Independent]] |language=en |archive-date=2 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802194842/https://kyivindependent.com/transnistria-asks-russia-for-more-peacekeepers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Moldova's prime minister, Dorin Recean, said that Russian troops should be expelled from the region.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williamson |first=Lucy |date=5 March 2023 |title=Ukraine war: The Moldovan enclave surrounded by pro-Russian forces |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64824517 |access-date=3 August 2023 |archive-date=13 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913022708/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64824517 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 31 October 2022, Moldova's Interior Ministry said that debris from a Russian missile landed in the northern village of [[Naslavcea]] after a Russian fusillade was intercepted by air defenses in neighboring Ukraine. The Ministry reported no people were hurt but the windows of several residential homes were shattered. The Russian strike was targeting a Ukrainian dam on the [[Dniester river|Nistru river]] that runs through Moldova and Ukraine.<ref>{{cite news |date=31 October 2022 |title=Debris of Russian missile downed by Ukraine lands in Moldovan village |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-missile-downed-by-ukraine-lands-moldovan-village-interior-ministry-2022-10-31/ |url-status=live |access-date=31 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031122037/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-missile-downed-by-ukraine-lands-moldovan-village-interior-ministry-2022-10-31/ |archive-date=31 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Varenikova |first1=Maria |last2=Pronczuk |first2=Monika |date=31 October 2022 |title=Moldova condemns Russian strikes after missile debris lands in its territory. |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/world/europe/moldova-russia-missile-debris-war.html |access-date=1 August 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=31 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731221853/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/world/europe/moldova-russia-missile-debris-war.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 5 December, another missile fell near the city of [[Briceni]] as Russia launched another wave of missile strikes against Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 December 2022 |title=Missile fragments found in Moldova near Ukraine border – local media |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/missile-fragments-found-moldova-near-ukraine-border-local-media-2022-12-05/ |access-date=1 August 2023 |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801192907/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/missile-fragments-found-moldova-near-ukraine-border-local-media-2022-12-05/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Yet another missile fell into [[Larga, Briceni|Larga]] on 14 January 2023 as a result of another wave of missile strikes against Ukraine<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tanas |first1=Alexander |last2=Holmes |first2=David |last3=Popeski |first3=Ron |last4=Oatis |first4=Jonathan |date=14 January 2023 |title=Moldova says missile debris found in north of the country |website=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldova-says-missile-debris-found-north-country-2023-01-14/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115000237/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/moldova-says-missile-debris-found-north-country-2023-01-14/ |archive-date=15 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=14 January 2023 |title=Rocket debris found again in Moldova, from war next door |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-8d35f4ea80376c6e9828e79c7f195e22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115010736/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-8d35f4ea80376c6e9828e79c7f195e22 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |access-date=15 January 2023 |publisher=[[AP News]]}}</ref> and again on the same village on 16 February of the same year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harding |first=Luke |date=10 February 2023 |title=Russian cruise missiles crossed into Moldova and Romania, says Ukraine |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/09/russia-launches-drone-and-missile-attacks-in-south-and-east-ukraine |access-date=1 August 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=28 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230728000014/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/09/russia-launches-drone-and-missile-attacks-in-south-and-east-ukraine |url-status=live }}</ref> On 25 September, a missile crashed into [[Chițcani]], for the first time in Moldovan territory controlled by Transnistria.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-razboi_ucraina-26558577-racheta-300-productie-sovietica-explodat-deasupra-transnistriei-focosul-proiectilului-cazut-gospodarie-unui-localnic-detalii-exclusive.htm|title=O rachetă S-300, de producție sovietică, a explodat deasupra Transnistriei. Focosul proiectilului a căzut în gospodăria unui localnic – detalii exclusive|first=Oxana|last=Bodnar|publisher=[[HotNews]]|date=25 September 2023|language=ro|access-date=8 March 2024|archive-date=20 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020021551/https://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-razboi_ucraina-26558577-racheta-300-productie-sovietica-explodat-deasupra-transnistriei-focosul-proiectilului-cazut-gospodarie-unui-localnic-detalii-exclusive.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> On 11 February 2024, fragments of a Russian drone were found in the village of [[Etulia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://stiri.md/article/social/fragmente-de-drona-depistate-la-vulcanesti-accesul-in-regiune-restrictionat|title=Fragmente de dronă, depistate la Vulcănești: Accesul în regiune, restricționat|newspaper=Știri.md|date=11 February 2024|language=ro|access-date=8 March 2024|archive-date=13 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213073445/https://stiri.md/article/social/fragmente-de-drona-depistate-la-vulcanesti-accesul-in-regiune-restrictionat|url-status=live}}</ref> This happened again on 17 February in Etulia Nouă<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/externe/moldova/noi-fragmente-de-drona-au-fost-gasite-in-republica-moldova-in-apropiere-de-granita-cu-ucraina-2691483|title=Noi fragmente de dronă au fost găsite în Republica Moldova, în apropiere de granița cu Ucraina|first=Liviu|last=Cojan|publisher=Digi24|date=17 February 2024|language=ro|access-date=8 March 2024|archive-date=19 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219065739/https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/externe/moldova/noi-fragmente-de-drona-au-fost-gasite-in-republica-moldova-in-apropiere-de-granita-cu-ucraina-2691483|url-status=live}}</ref> and on 4 April again in Etulia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/04/05/moldova-strongly-condemns-second-russian-drone-wreckage-discovery-near-ukraine/|title=Moldova strongly condemns second Russian drone wreckage discovery near Ukraine|first=Yuri|last=Zoria|newspaper=[[Euromaidan Press]]|date=5 April 2024|access-date=7 June 2024|archive-date=7 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507042453/https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/04/05/moldova-strongly-condemns-second-russian-drone-wreckage-discovery-near-ukraine/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Russia's '10 year plan', written in 2021, was leaked to the international press, involved supporting pro-Russian groups, utilizing the [[Eastern Orthodoxy in Moldova|Orthodox Church]] and threatening to cut off supplies of natural gas with the aim to destabilise Moldova.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lister |first=Tim |date=17 March 2023 |title=Secret document reveals Russia's 10-year plan to destabilize Moldova |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/europe/russia-moldova-secret-document-intl-cmd/index.html |access-date=1 August 2023 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en |archive-date=29 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829022453/https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/europe/russia-moldova-secret-document-intl-cmd/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Turp-Balazs |first=Craig |date=27 July 2023 |title='Neutral' Moldova is having a very good war |url=https://emerging-europe.com/news/neutral-moldova-is-having-a-very-good-war/ |access-date=1 August 2023 |website=Emerging Europe |language=en-GB |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801191720/https://emerging-europe.com/news/neutral-moldova-is-having-a-very-good-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In February 2023 an [[2023 Moldovan coup d'état attempt allegations|attempted coup]] by a series of Russian-backed actors was uncovered involving saboteurs with military training dressed in civilian clothes to stage attacks (including on state buildings), and take hostages.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rankin |first=Jennifer |date=13 February 2023 |title=Moldova president accuses Russia of plotting to oust pro-EU government |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/moldova-president-maia-sandu-accuses-russia-of-plotting-to-oust-pro-eu-government |access-date=22 February 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=28 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230728000028/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/moldova-president-maia-sandu-accuses-russia-of-plotting-to-oust-pro-eu-government |url-status=live }}</ref> The Moldovan government was to be overthrown and replaced with a [[puppet government]]. The plan allegedly involved an alliance between criminal groups and two exiled Moldovan [[Russian oligarchs|oligarchs]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 February 2023 |title=Has Russia been planning a coup in Ukraine's neighbour, Moldova? Here's what we know |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-14/kremlin-accused-of-plotting-moldova-coup/101972428 |access-date=14 February 2023 |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514104916/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-14/kremlin-accused-of-plotting-moldova-coup/101972428 |url-status=live }}</ref> President Sandu said Russian, Montenegrin, Belarusian, and Serbian citizens were to enter Moldova to incite protests as part of the coup plan;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rankin |first=Jennifer |date=13 February 2023 |title=Moldova president accuses Russia of plotting to oust pro-EU government |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/moldova-president-maia-sandu-accuses-russia-of-plotting-to-oust-pro-eu-government |access-date=22 February 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=28 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230728000028/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/moldova-president-maia-sandu-accuses-russia-of-plotting-to-oust-pro-eu-government |url-status=live }}</ref> Moldovan intelligence believes foreign provocateurs would be used to foment violent unrest during the anti-government protests.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Journal |first=Margherita Stancati / Photographs by Ramin Mazur for The Wall Street |title=Moldova, Under Pressure From Russia's War on Ukraine, Fears It Could Be Next |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/moldova-under-pressure-from-russias-war-on-ukraine-fears-it-could-be-next-b9507d7f |access-date=23 February 2023 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=22 February 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222222310/https://www.wsj.com/articles/moldova-under-pressure-from-russias-war-on-ukraine-fears-it-could-be-next-b9507d7f |url-status=live }}</ref> Foreign citizens were also to be involved in violent actions. Sandu credited Ukrainian partners for uncovering locations and logistical aspects of the plot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 February 2023 |title=Russia is planning coup in Moldova, says President Maia Sandu |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/moldova-president-maia-sandu-russia-attack/ |access-date=22 February 2023 |website=POLITICO |language=en-US |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222234336/https://www.politico.eu/article/moldova-president-maia-sandu-russia-attack/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 10 March briefing, United States [[National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications|National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications]] [[John Kirby (admiral)|John Kirby]] made public information about Russian efforts to destabilise Moldova obtained by the U.S. Kirby stated the U.S. government believes Russia to be pursuing destabilisation efforts in Moldova with the ultimate goal of replacing the existing Moldovan government with one that would be more friendly to Russian interests.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 March 2023 |title=National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby commented on Russian attempts to destabilize Moldova |url=https://md.usembassy.gov/national-security-council-coordinator-for-strategic-communications-john-kirby-commented-on-russian-attempts-to-destabilize-moldova/ |website=U.S. Embassy in Moldova |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922082734/https://md.usembassy.gov/national-security-council-coordinator-for-strategic-communications-john-kirby-commented-on-russian-attempts-to-destabilize-moldova/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2023, opposition politician [[Oleg Khorzhan]], a pro-Russian critic of the [[Transnistrian Government|Transnistrian government]], and leader of the local [[Transnistrian Communist Party]] in the breakaway Transnistria region, was found dead in his home on the outskirts of [[Tiraspol]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 July 2023 |title=Killing of opposition leader in Moldova's Transnistria region probed |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/07/17/police-investigate-killing-of-opposition-leader-in-moldovas-breakaway-transnistria-region |access-date=1 August 2023 |website=[[Euronews]] |language=en |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801204320/https://www.euronews.com/2023/07/17/police-investigate-killing-of-opposition-leader-in-moldovas-breakaway-transnistria-region |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Moldovan Police|Moldovan National Police]] has opened an active investigation into his presumed murder.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 July 2023 |title=Killing of opposition leader in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region is under investigation |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/killing-opposition-leader-moldovas-breakaway-transnistria-region-investigation-101339212 |access-date=1 August 2023 |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |language=en |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801204533/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/killing-opposition-leader-moldovas-breakaway-transnistria-region-investigation-101339212 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ceban |first=Evghenii |date=25 July 2023 |title=Murder in Transnistria, Moldova's shadowy breakaway region |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/transnistria-russia-ukraine-oleg-khorzhan-murder/ |access-date=1 August 2023 |website=[[OpenDemocracy]] |language=en |archive-date=27 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727150734/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/transnistria-russia-ukraine-oleg-khorzhan-murder/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[History of Europe]]
*[[History of Romania]]
*[[History of Ukraine]]
*[[President of Moldova|List of presidents of Moldova]]
*[[Prime Minister of Moldova|List of prime ministers of Moldova]]
*[[Politics of Moldova]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|History of Moldova}}

==Further reading==

* Brezianu, Andrei, and Vlad Spânu. ''The A to Z of Moldova'' (Scarecrow Press, 2010).
* Chinn, Jeff, and Steven D. Roper. "Ethnic mobilization and reactive nationalism: The case of Moldova." ''Nationalities papers'' 23.2 (1995): 291-325 [http://www.stevendroper.com/chinn.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808131028/http://www.stevendroper.com/chinn.pdf |date=2021-08-08 }}.
* King,  Charles. ''The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture'' (Hoover Institution Press, 2000).
* Lutsevych, Orysia. ''How to finish a revolution: Civil society and democracy in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine'' (Chatham House, 2013).
* Mitrasca, Marcel. ''Moldova: A Romanian Province Under Russian Rule'' (Algora, 2002).
* Quinlan, Paul D. "Moldova under Lucinschi." ''Demokratizatsiya'' 10.1 (2002): 83–103.
* RAND, ''Russia’s Hostile Measures: Combating Russian Gray Zone Aggression Against NATO in the Contact, Blunt, and Surge Layers of Competition'' (2020) [http://www.rand.org/t/RR2539 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314110221/https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2539.html |date=2023-03-14 }} on Transnistria
* Way, Lucan A. "Authoritarian state building and the sources of regime competitiveness in the fourth wave: The cases of Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine." ''World Politics'' 57.2 (2005): 231–261.
* Way, Lucan A. "Weak states and pluralism: The case of Moldova." ''East European Politics and Societies'' 17.03 (2003): 454–482. [http://homes.ieu.edu.tr/~ibagdadi/INT435/Readings/Western%20NIS/Way%20-%20Weak%20States%20and%20Pluralism%20The%20Case%20of%20Moldova.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921102715/http://homes.ieu.edu.tr/~ibagdadi/INT435/Readings/Western%20NIS/Way%20-%20Weak%20States%20and%20Pluralism%20The%20Case%20of%20Moldova.pdf |date=2021-09-21 }}

==External links==
* [http://horianedelciuc.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-republic-of-moldova-historical.html The Republic of Moldova: An Historical Background, Survey by Dr. Vasile Nedelciuc] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514182523/http://horianedelciuc.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-republic-of-moldova-historical.html |date=2021-05-14 }}
* [http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_Moldova:_Primary_Documents History of Moldova: Primary Documents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205054113/http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_Moldova:_Primary_Documents |date=2015-02-05 }}
* [[:ro:Istoria Moldovei|Istoria Moldovei]]
{{History of Europe}}
{{European history by country}}
{{Moldova topics|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Moldova}}
[[Category:History of Moldova| ]]